The Law and The Claw
by elzataerinn
Summary: In Zootopia, Nick Wilde dreams of becoming a police officer. Follow the life of Nick Wilde the police officer and the world around him. PS: A loose AU retelling of Zootopia with a few ... swaps.
1. Chapter 1: A Little Wilde

Five rings came from a clock hanging over the living room of the modest apartment, although it apparently attracted no response from a female fox who was preparing the kitchen table. Once she placed two bowls and all the utensils, she checked on her cooking in a pot. The smell perked her up, as though she felt she had never cooked better. She then put a lid on the pot, set her egg timer to three minutes, then took a seat at the kitchen as she heaved a satisfied sigh. Her smile faded a little as she gazed upon the front door.

Then she heard a few knocks on the door, and a fox kit opened it.

"Mommy, I'm home!"

The female fox beamed as she walked up to the kit. He was wearing a green boy scout uniform, of a color less vivid than his eyes, topped with a cap, and his red tie made him look ever so dashing. A name tag on his uniform read "N. Wilde".

"How's your day, Nick?" asked Mrs. Wilde as she hoisted up her little son and nuzzled him.

"Great, Mom," little Nick replied with a wide smile as he nuzzled his mom back and she gently put him down, "I'm part of the junior scout now."

Mrs. Wilde gave Nick a little applause as he continued, "You should have seen me there, Mom. I was at the center of the room, in front of everyone, and then I took an oath," little Nick then straightened up and held his right paw up as though reenacting something he did earlier, "I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy."

Mrs. Wilde playfully mussed his cheeks.

"You have always been all those, Nick," she replied as she walked back to the kitchen with Nick in tow after closing the front door, "Now, be a good boy and sit while this Mommy prepare your dinner."

Five in the afternoon wasn't something most mammals would consider dinner time, but Nick understood that his mom had been working night shift at some factory somewhere for a few months. He felt lonely at night sometimes, but at least he still got to see her every day, be it morning before he went to school and she to her day job at some shop somewhere, or afternoons like this.

"And here we go," Mrs. Wilde exclaimed as the egg timer went off, and a short while later the two of them were already eating.

"So, how does it feel, Nick, being a junior scout?"

"Well, uh, it felt great, but there's not much to do on the first day."

"Uh, huh."

"Though actually..."

"... What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"I feel kinda lonely in the scout."

"Why?"

"Because I am the only predator."

Mrs. Wilde pondered a little about what Nick said. There weren't that many predators at Nick's school, if her memory of her visits there was accurate. Still, Nick being the only predator in the junior scout? That sounded odd.

"None of your predator friends joined the scout?"

"I did ask them to join since I am, but they just didn't want to."

"Looks like they don't like becoming scouts."

"... That reminds me to last week."

"What happened last week?"

"Mrs. Serafina asked us what we want to be when we grow up. I think nobody said scout."

"Oh," Mrs. Wilde playfully rubbed Nick's head, "Well, nobody I know grew up to become scouts either, Nick. That's just a stepping stone for other dreams."

"Oh," Nick drooped ever so little. Mrs. Wilde realized she might have put it wrong.

"There's nothing wrong with being a junior scout, Nick. Certainly nothing wrong for now. As with everything else, that's a good place to be to learn new things. And make friends too."

Nick perked up as his mom poked his nose, ran her finger across it and then put it in his mouth. He then realized some food had smeared his nose without his noticing, and the two giggled before continuing their dinner.

"So, what did you tell Mrs. Serafina?"

"Well, actually I didn't say anything."

"Oh, why?"

"I don't know yet, Mom. The others in my class mentioned things like police officer, astronaut, doctor, actuary, singer, but I just haven't decided yet."

A curious smile came upon Nick.

"Mom, you said that Dad was a tailor, right?"

Mrs. Wilde didn't immediately answer. Her husband was indeed a tailor, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was his death four years ago, something that she had always hated to recall. She often imagined how Nick felt, having never truly seen his father as he was growing up.

"What if I become a tailor like Dad, Mom? Will he be proud of me?"

Mrs. Wilde only rubbed Nick's head gently.

"Whether or not you become a tailor like him, I'm sure he will always be proud of you, sweetheart."

"Mom, are you crying?"

"Oh, no no no," Mrs Wilde hastily rubbed her eyes, "The dinner's hot, you know. The steam got into my eyes."

Nick was wondering why his mother said that.

The two finally finished their dinner and Mrs. Wilde proceeded to clean up the kitchen table and wash the bowls. She told Nick to change his clothes and stash his junior scout uniform in the laundry, and once he did so he went to the living room and turned on the radio. He knew his mother loved to tune in to the six P.M. news, which now had just started. Nick then sat at the living room, listening to the news even as he might not understand everything he heard, the same thing he had been doing at this hour every day. There was some news about police at Rainforest District if he heard it correctly, and when the next news rolled in, he saw his mother going into her room, no doubt to prepare for her night shift later. Something he heard next piqued his curiosity, and he waited until his mother walked out before asking.

"Mom, can I ask something?"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Mrs. Wilde answered warmly as she brushed up her uniform, which had Aries Textiles logo sewn on the chest.

"What's a demonstration?"

A demonstration at Lambullghini automobiles, as the news reported it. She had heard news of unrest at that company for a while due to a recent major employee turnover, where a few dozen senior workers were laid off and replaced with younger workforce, most likely for cost-saving. Of course the laid-off workers made a ruckus about low compensations or whatever else they could think off, though what she caught next alarmed her.

"... at the scene of the demonstration. The protesters are demanding to be reinstated..."

"... Why do we have to lose our lifehood to these chompers?..."

"... We demand our jobs back..."

"Mom, what is a chomper?"

It was one thing hearing nasty words from the news, but it was another thing for her son to have to hear that. Mrs. Wilde tried to think of an answer.

"A demonstration... well, in this case, it means a group of mammals have a disagreement with another group and so they voice it out in public."

"If mammals have disagreement, why do they have to do it in public?"

"Some just prefer to do it like that, sweetheart. Not everyone likes to settle their differences quietly, it's just how they do it."

"Ok. Then what about chomper?"

"That's... usually that means someone in that demonstration hates another mammal so badly. Enemies, if you will." _Was that the right answer?_

"Oh, I see." Somehow she suspected he wasn't convinced.

"Anyway, Nick, sweetheart, as usual, be a good boy tonight, do your homework, if you're feeling lonely you can talk with your friends over the phone, and go to bed on time. Oh, and I bought fresh blueberries when you were at school earlier, have some if you're feeling peckish."

The phone rang just after Mrs. Wilde kissed Nick on his head. Nick knew what that phone ring meant, and his mother then answered it.

"Hi, Amy! ... Yes, I'll see you later, same time, same place... Ok... Ok, bye!" Mrs. Wilde hung up and then caressed Nick one last time before going out, "Have a good night and sweet dreams, sweetheart."

And with that Mrs. Wilde gave Nick one last smile before leaving the apartment, and Nick locked the door as usual. He then pondered what he should do next. He had little homework today, so maybe he'd do it later. Perhaps he'd just take some blueberries for snack before he did so. Or maybe he should turn on the radio again in case there might be something interesting on air. He felt so spare all of a sudden tonight. The next thing he knew, it was almost ten, and he had been preparing for bedtime with nothing else to do. As Nick laid on his bed, suddenly he remembered what he told his mother about Mrs. Serafina's question. _What will I be when I grow up?_ He pondered the myriad of possibilities until drowsiness fell upon him.

* * *

Mrs. Wilde was preparing dinner that afternoon. She was unusually hasty, cooking something light unlike how she would usually cook the heartiest dinner she could. Then again, she came home late that day as the shop she worked at was unusually busy earlier. The clock already rang five some time ago, and not long after everything was ready. Only little Nick was left.

Eventually she heard a knocking on the door. She then headed there even though normally Nick would just open the door himself anyway. Given that the clock showed 5.40, Mrs. Wilde had expected to see the little kit standing meekly at the door, with ears drooping and paws behind his back, and she would give him a little scolding to retort whatever apologetic excuses he would give her.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Jane Wilde, are you inside?"

 _Who is that?_

She certainly did not expect what she saw when she opened the door: A lion police officer standing over Nick with badly mussed school uniform and one hand over his face to cover a bruise.

"My God, Nick!" Mrs. Wilde promptly took Nick in and embraced him, terrible thoughts circling in her head, "What... Officer, what happened?"

"He said he got into a tussle with some kids at school. I only saw him when he was walking down the streets alone looking like this, so I figured I should get him home just in case."

"Oh my God," Mrs. Wilde was still shocked and unsure what to say, "Thank you, Officer."

Once the officer left, Mrs. Wilde sat Nick at the living room as she began to administer first aids to Nick. After that, she called her friend saying that she would not be going to work tonight. She then sat beside a drooping Nick.

"What happened, sweetheart?"

"Mom, I'm sorry," Nick wiped his eyes.

"Why did you get into a fight like this?" Mrs. Wilde wasn't sure what to say. She was sure Nick wasn't the sort of kit who would just bully someone over anything.

"It's about Charlie, Mom."

Charlie Catmull, one of Nick's friend. Mrs. Wilde had seen the little cougar a few times, and the cub was a shy little boy. Surely it wasn't possible for the two to quarrel to this point?

"Some of the other kids snatched his lunch, so I told them to give that back."

 _Oh_.

Mrs. Wilde then hugged Nick, her eyes getting wet by the moment.

"They even said chompers shouldn't eat sandwich. So I just jumped in because I thought those kids would attack Charlie."

 _Some kids even said that?_ Mrs. Wilde reflected back to what she once told Nick about chompers. _Maybe that really wasn't the right answer._

"Maybe I should just let that go. Maybe I should just share my lunch with Charlie instead of brawling like this," Nick appeared regretful, "I still lost his lunch anyway, and now you have to see me like this."

"Nick, sweetheart," Mrs. Wilde caressed Nick with a feeling of relief and pride, "I'm just glad you're ok in the end."

 _Thank you, God, thank you_.

Later as the two sat at the living room after dinner, Mrs. Wilde checked on Nick's bruises again. There was nothing serious in the end. The worst that could happen would be that the school would call her and Mrs. Catmull about this issue, something minor compared to Nick's well-being.

"Mom, why do some mammals hate others so much?" Nick shot a question.

Mrs. Wilde wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer, it was just that for her, something like this was not new to her. Some mammal claiming they were more privileged than others, some looking down on others, other such things. She had even seen several such abusive mammals; customers of her shop, co-worker cliques who were just predisposed to dismissing others like her. The thought of her little son being exposed to such things so early weighed heavy on her.

"These things... just happen Nick."

Again, maybe that wasn't a good answer.

"I'm sometimes tired of dealing with that kind of thing, Nick. It's like what you said; sometimes," Mrs. Wilde inhaled deeply, "it's better to look the other way. As long as they don't see that they get to you."

Nick appeared to be contemplating. Mrs. Wilde just pulled him to her and wrapped her arm over him.

"But if we- if I don't do something when my friends are being hurt, isn't that bad, Mom?"

"You have done something, Nick. Don't you see?"

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"You said it yourself, right? Even if you didn't wrestle back the stolen lunch, you already wanted to share yours with Charlie. That's already better than doing nothing, sweetheart."

Nick only leaned on his mother.

"Mom, I've been thinking, and I think I've found the answer."

"Answer for what, Nick?"

"About what I will be when I grow up."

Considering what they were just talking about, Mrs. Wilde could roughly guess what Nick would say. Still, she thought he might surprise her, so she poked him on the chin, nudging him to speak.

"I want to be someone who can protect my friends from the bad mammals. And I want to be someone who help those in trouble. I want to be-"

Nick stood on the sofa and made a salute.

"-A police officer!"

Mrs. Wilde wrapped herself over Nick. She was not sure what to say to him, but she promised herself: If this was what Nick dreamed of, she would do anything to help him achieve it.

* * *

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 _ **#####**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **Well, there goes. I was hoping to finish this story by March 4, Zootopia's anniversary (taking the US release date), but with me severely overestimating my storytelling skills and severely underestimating my general laziness, I failed to put up a complete story before the date.**

 **But as a token of appreciation for the amazing movie that Zootopia is, I think it's best that I put this up anyway and finish it later. Half a cake is better than none, I guess XD**

 **Oh well.**

 **Just a bit of heads up: There are times when, while adding new chapters, I may edit or flat-out overhaul previous chapters. I'll do my best to point out whenever that happens so that you know there's a shift in story.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Start Of Everything

_(Sixteen years later)_

A chubby buffalo was eating breakfast cereal at his desk, seemingly oblivious to the fact said desk was directly facing the entrance of the large building, with a large Zootopia Police Department emblem hanging right behind him. In addition to the cereal, there was a half-empty box of donuts. The only things on his desk that weren't food were a microphone and a name plate that read "Bogo".

As he munched his cereal, the buffalo noticed that someone had walked in, a fox in a neat police uniform, who then took off and stashed his sunglasses in his shirt pocket. The fox was shorter than him; in fact, if that fox were to stand right next to the desk, he probably could have only seen his ears, and that was if they were standing.

"Morning, Bogo," the fox saluted the buffalo.

"Hey, Wilde," Bogo greeted back, the quickly shoved his cereal aside and offered the box of donuts to Nick, "Want some?"

Nick was amused at how efficiently Bogo had shoved his cereal aside that nothing spilled onto the desk. He then got back at Bogo's offer of donuts.

"Sure, thanks," Nick picked a blueberry donut from among them, though he then realized that every single one of the remaining donuts was blueberry. He shrugged. Sometimes he felt bad that he took a donut that Bogo bought himself, and yet with Bogo's cheerful enthusiam in sharing donuts, he felt that declining too many times would be just as rude.

"I figured you are more likely to share donuts with me if I bought the blueberry ones," Bogo chuckled ( _oh, so that's what happened_ ), then pointed out at the clock, "Anyway, the roll call won't be until another hour. You have anything to do?"

"Nah, I guess I'll just hang out at the canteen, get some coffee, read the news or something before I get in to the bullpen," Nick replied while taking a little bite from the donut.

"Okay," Bogo the pulled back his cereal, again without spilling anything.

After giving Bogo another handwave, Nick walked to the canteen, every now and then saluting officers whom he met along the way. He whisked back to two plus months ago, when he first got into ZPD. He was the first fox officer in the precinct, and many were surprised or amused when they first saw him. Maybe because he was considerably smaller than every other officer. That sentiment still remained until now, especially given that he hadn't been doing any serious police work.

Nick sighed when he reminisced about his first few months. On his first day at ZPD, Bogo was the only one who actually greeted him. Nick remembered how he was taken aback at how affable Bogo was, and had always been ever since. It made working at ZPD feel more tolerable. Some of the other officers showed clear disbelief upon seeing him, at least on the first few days. Meanwhile, most of the senior officers barely cared that someone like him made it to the precinct. Either that, or apparently nobody cared about introductions, just like how the chief merely walked into the bullpen on his first day, announced the roll call for the day and just left. It wasn't that ZPD officers were a quiet bunch; the contrary in fact. Perhaps the best term to describe it was that they were task-oriented. _Very_ task-oriented. Nick had accepted that perhaps that's how police work was. Even if his work was just parking duty.

Nick huffed. Zipping around Zootopia in a buggy (and a slow one at that), issuing tickets to whoever parked too long or violated parking regulation. For all his physical trainings at the academy, Nick found that task to be extremely dull. Then again, he was new. Complaining about a boring job was not really a wise thing to do now; it could have been worse. Nevertheless, Nick sometimes wondered how long more he would be doing parking duty, as not only had he gotten tired of such unstimulating task, he had gotten tired of trying to assure his mother that he was fine with his job. She had been ever so supportive, always telling him his time of doing what he called real cop duty would come, and that he just needed to be patient and diligent. Yet as months passed, he couldn't drown out his worry that she had become disappointed at his career progression. It annoyed him sometimes how meaningless being among the top ten graduate at the police academy seemed to be.

Nick was already on his way to the bullpen five minutes before the scheduled roll call. The waiting was very uneventful. The one news that he somehow got interested in was that the Mayor was still away from the city, having gone south for some business trip or something, so that meant whatever business the City Hall had would be handled by the Deputy Mayor. Nick sometimes found it amusing that the Deputy Mayor seemed to show up more often in the news than the Mayor, but that mattered little; whatever the big boys at the City Hall did was often too much for him to digest anyway.

Nick arrived at a familiar atmosphere at the bullpen. Officers Andersen and Johnson were arm-wrestling, again. Did they never get tired of that? Officer Wolford acted as if he didn't hear Nick's arrival, but Nick knew Wolford was actually very attentive; there was one time that he offhandedly asked Nick if he had left his sunglasses at home after several days of not commenting about how Nick tended to dock said sunglasses in the pocket. The only thing that he found unusual was that Deputy Chief Higgins, who just came in, was the only prey mammal in the bullpen today. Nick wondered what happened to the rest. Were they still out on duty somewhere? For several days, or even weeks, already? Whatever. Nick climbed his usual seat at the front row and found officers Fangmeyer and Howliwell at the same desk, so he gave them a silent salute and they merely nodded in kind. As he did so, Higgins issued an order Nick had been hearing every morning before the Chief came in.

"Atten-hut!"

The other officers rose, unlike Nick who had been standing this whole time. Then again, he was too small for the chair; He remembered how embarassing it felt when, on the first day, he tried to sit down and realized he must have gone out of view of the other officers. Amid the officers' chanting of ZPD anthem, a muscular cheetah made his way onto the podium in the bullpen, his somewhat weathered nametag read Clawhauser.

"Enough, can it," Chief Clawhauser tersely ordered the bullpen to quiet down.

It was right after Chief Clawhauser walked past the map on the wall that Nick noticed three photos of some mammals tacked onto the map.

"Officers Delgato, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Rainforest District SWAT," the chief could be heard distributing tasks.

 _Strange_ , Nick thought, _those photos weren't there yesterday_.

"Officers Wolford, Andersen, Snarlov, missing mammals at Tundratown."

 _Missing mammals? Tundratown?_ Nick compared what he just heard with the photos on the map. A photo of a polar bear was linked to Floe area, and one of a snow leopard to southern Tundratown. _Oh, so that's what those photos are for._ Nick then looked at the third photo, a brown bear linked to Downtown area. Someone went missing from such a central area. Wow.

"Officers Howliwell, Wilde."

Two things alarmed Nick. One, he had always been alone when doing parking duty. Two, the chief had paused for an unusually long time.

"Sahara Square traffic enforcement. Dismissed."

Chief Clawhauser then made his exit shortly after. Officer Howliwell, a grey wolf, jabbed Nick, and he realized he was lost in thought.

"Let's go, Wilde."

"Oh, uh, yeah."

* * *

Nick's parking duty had taken him throughout a large chunk of Zootopia, including Sahara Square. He usually would loosen up his uniform to deal with the heat at the locale, so given that now he was doing traffic enforcement patrol while inside a shuttered, air-conditioned cruiser unlike his usual buggy, he felt a bit weird not doing it. Especially when he compared his uniform with Howliwell's t-shirt. That reminded Nick; he had never seen a ZPD wolf officer who didn't wear a t-shirt.

"What did you ever do to that moose we stopped just earlier, Wilde?" Officer Howliwell asked Nick, at the same time adjusting his glasses, "He seemed very obnoxious to you."

"Oh," Nick tried to recollect his previous encounter with said moose, "Must be one of those times I issued a ticket right as the meter expired."

"Goodness," Howliwell chortled as though he had gone through something similar, "Are you actually that enthusiastic about parking duty?"

"Oh dear, no, Howliwell. He was just unlucky I was standing right next to the meter when it went off," Nick chuckled, "Nearly spilled my slurpee. I didn't know those meters could be so loud up close."

The two erupted with laughter until Howliwell took a glance at the time.

"Say, Wilde, with everyone probably off for lunch break, why don't we take one too?"

"Sure, oh," Nick perked up, especially when he realized where he was, "There's this really nice bakery a block away from here. I love the blueberry pies, especially."

"No offense, but from what I heard from Bogo, you only love blueberries."

Nick laughed it out.

"Ok, you'll be the GPS. Show me where this bakery is."

A short while later, the two of them were already lining up at the bakery. Nick didn't even read the menu; he had known full well how delicious the blueberry pies were, and besides, he had been well-acquainted with the owner. The two cops eventually left the bakery with their respective food.

"Thank you for visiting," the bakery's owner, a portly fox with tidily combed hair, waved at Nick and Howliwell, both of whom replied in kind.

"Seriously, Wilde, that bakery has the cutest name I've ever seen," Howliwell mused once they reached a sitting area near where they parked.

"I know. ' _Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuffs_ '", Nick repeated the bakery's name, "That Gideon, the owner, once told me he was from the south."

"The farmlands at the south, you mean?"

"Yup. Bunnyburrows. You know, the carrot haven."

"That explains," Howliwell suddenly paused and Nick raised an eyebrow, "no, that reminds me of a few things."

"Of?"

"Erm, no, nevermind."

Nick had a feeling that Howliwell felt what he wanted to say might sound rude, but Nick decided not to dwell on it. Everyone had their own opinion after all. The two merely finished their lunch and headed back to their cruiser. As he randomly gazed around, Nick saw a grey mammal coming out of an alley across the road, a bunny. That wouldn't be worth noticing had the bunny not looked rather fidgety, looking around as though suspecting a stalker. Nick pondered for a while as the bunny waltzed off to who-knows-where after dusting off paws.

"Something wrong, Wilde?"

Howliwell's words jolted Nick. _Oops, what was I doing?_

* * *

The patrol session after lunch break was interestingly more peaceful compared to the morning one, as though full stomachs helped mammal drivers focus better on the road. Nick and Howliwell ended up going round and round doing almost nothing.

"Never thought traffic enforcement could be this peaceful somehow," Nick mused, "I mean, I was unlikely to go for more than 10 minutes without issuing one parking ticket."

"Don't you know what they say, Wilde?" Howliwell remarked.

"Oh, right," Nick chuckled, "Don't say something you don't want happen."

The two officers laughed. Not long after, they ended up ticketing a hippo who went over the speed limit, and they couldn't hide their snickers over the turn of events after they got back on the roads.

"This is Dispatch to Howliwell and Wilde."

Bogo's voice could be heard from the transceiver, and Nick nodded at Howliwell, who understood what the fox wanted.

"This is Wilde, Dispatch, what's the matter?"

"Oh, hey, Wilde," Nick snickered at Bogo's usual bubbliness, "So someone called 911 saying there's an injured hyena found in an alley at 41 Saguaro Lane. Ambulance's on the way, so see if you can find clues."

"We're on it," Nick concluded as he and Howliwell nodded to each other.

* * *

The injured hyena was already loaded into the ambulance when the two officers arrived at the scene. The two didn't manage to get useful witness accounts; The medics said the hyena was laid against the wall inside the alley, and nobody saw what caused his predicament.

"Looks like they'll have to ask the hyena once he's good for questioning."

Howliwell sighed as the two were looking around inside the alley. There were hints of a brawl, though they didn't see the extent of the hyena's injuries. Nick decided to walk towards the other end of the alley. As he gazed around, he recalled that this side of the alley seemed familiar; If he was not mistaken, Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuffs was a few block away ahead. He remembered the bunny and decided to check the time. 3:30, which meant it was at least two and a half hour ago when he saw the bunny. That seemed too long.

"I agree," Nick huffed as the two proceeded to continue their work after all was taken care of.

* * *

That late afternoon, Howliwell and Nick had finished their day patrol and now were back at ZPD headquarters. Howliwell had told Nick he would help archive whatever happened that day, so he nudged Nick to leave for the day as there had been other officers being assigned for any night duties. Nick was on his way out saluting Bogo when the buffalo stopped him.

"How's the day, Wilde?" Bogo cheerfully asked before presenting the donut box, which now contained only one blueberry donut, "I heard from Chief that he assigned you something different today."

"Oh, it was okay, thanks," Nick replied as he picked the last donut.

"Kinda envy you, I tell ya what," Bogo started chatting, "My first days were on records, looking at archives day in and day out in the HQ, maintaining database and such. And I think I started that after the previous records officer had retired and they weren't able to get a replacement for a week. And I was twenty minutes late on my first day too, oh silly me-"

 _(Five minutes later)_

"-and then Chief walked up to me and said in front of everyone, 'Bogo, given what you did earlier, I was thinking of promoting you to receptionist duty'. Ooooooh, I was super excited. Well, I did learn later that being a receptionist also doubled as a dispatch officer, which reminds me earlier that Officer Krumpanski called in to catch some slippery perp at Savannah Central-"

Bogo suddenly stopped when he looked at the clock.

"Oooh! I'm so sorry, Wilde! You're going home soon, right?"

"It's ok."

Nick knew the bubbly buffalo sometimes trailed off into random stories when talking with anyone, maybe even the chief. He was actually impressed that Bogo could stop himself in the midst of monologuing like that, thus Nick had learned not to interrupt Bogo's chatter out of some kind of respect.

"Ok, so anyway, see you tomorrow," Bogo waved at Nick who made his way out.

The walk home was mostly the same as the days before. As his usual, Nick wore a light jacket over his uniform. He knew some other officers had personal lockers at the HQ that they used to store their personal belongings, such as civilian clothes, but the idea of changing clothes outside home never caught on to him. Anyway, he wore the light jacket because he'd rather not advertise himself as a ZPD officer when he officially had clocked out for the day. Still, being a police meant that he felt responsible to maintain peace, protect civilian and whatnot, and it's reflected on his habit of glancing around whereever he went just in case.

Nick then caught sight of a van sprayed with kitschy grafitti and two figures shorter than him beside it, standing in a way to shield themselves from the traffic. One was a yellow fenned fox in black-and-brown ensemble, and the other was a grey bunny in pink-and-grey. Nick surmised based on what the bunny wore that he had seen that bunny earlier. He was slightly amused at how the bunny repeatedly thumped her foot.

"I said quit it!"

The fennec's size belied a ferociously loud voice. As Nick slowly approached, he saw the fennec making what appeared to be some threatening gestures towards the bunny, who snarled in return in addition to waving fist. _Imminent brawl?_ Nick hoped he was overthinking.

"Fin, come on! If this goes well, I can make enough to-" The bunny was clearly annoyed.

"By asking for their help?" The fennec swatted the bunny's paw as it it were too close to face.

"You think I'm ok with that? Look, I was- Oh, ahem," the bunny, her voice now clear on Nick's ear, immediately placed a paw on her face, and Nick already could tell he wouldn't learn anything else from the spat.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm butting in," Nick quickly tried to think up an excuse, or maybe a bait, "I'll excuse myself then. Have a nice day, and hope you can settle-"

"Shut it, big guy!" The fennec lashed out at Nick, then threw his hands up as he snarled at the bunny, "Mark my words, Fluff, you keep working with them, they'll bite your face off!"

Nick sighed as the fennec jumped into the kitschy van and drove off. Hopefully that was proverbial, but then again, who were _they_? Nick then turned towards the bunny, who was shaking her head with her paw still on her face. She then noticed that Nick was staring her.

"What's your problem?" The bunny fiercely questioned, her purple eyes glaring at his green.

"Ah, uh, nothing... much," Nick tried to relax a bit. At least there was no brawl; having to arrest two fiery mammals for a public disturbance all by himself would have been a mess.

The bunny then began walking away, although towards the same direction as Nick's home. _Great_ , Nick thought. Continuing his trip home like this would cause the bunny to snap at him, or worse, accuse him of stalking and would cause her to call the cops. He then just stood, waiting for the bunny to leave the scene. She instead looked back and noticed him standing still as Nick tried to look busy by checking his phone.

"What do you want?" The bunny was already beside Nick now.

"What? No, nothing," Nick tried to compose himself, "Anyway, I'm on my way home. Have a nice day."

 _Here I thought I was stopping an imminent brawl, and now I have a bunny getting needlessly suspicious of me. Well done, Nick._

Nick could surmise the bunny was behind him even as he made his way as relaxed as possible. He sighed in his mind occasionally, imagining whatever stupid situation that might happen. He saw a tiger officer along the way, Officer Jackson if he wasn't mistaken, and as the tiger recognized Nick from across the street, the two flashed smiles to each other. To his relief, halfway in his trip, he noticed that the bunny was no longer following him. All right, now to get back home as soon as I can. Oh, and tell mom I finally got to do something different; can't forget that. Nick began to haste cheerfully.

* * *

 ** _#####_**

 _ **#####**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **So I have mentioned in the intro summary that there will be a few swaps here and there. It's time to explain a bit about it.**

 **I got the idea of this story while browsing Zootopia fanarts and saw a few species swaps, such as bunny Nick and fox Judy. This particular fanfic is primarily based on the swap between Bogo's and Clawhauser's species, as you can see. There may be a few more swaps down the road, stay tuned :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Just Another Morning

Officer Fangmeyer was leaning on the wall of the hallway that early morning with coffee in one paw and her phone in another, texting several of her coworkers for news update. She was wondering how much she had missed out due to yesterday's SWAT duty, which she was annoyed about due to the lack of substantial incidents. She, Delgato and Grizzoli were sent to the Rainforest after a report of a road rage the day before, but they didn't find anything that would have warranted such measure. That assignment felt rather wasteful.

Wolford had replied with 'Found no one'; he had always been curt, like chief. Krumpanski said there was a burglary by a weasel and the suspect managed to escape due to size; she could sympathize with the rhino. Higgins said there was no more word from McHorn yet; the rhino had gone undercover for how many weeks again, four, was it? The last situation update McHorn managed to share with ZPD was almost two weeks ago. Howliwell would be taking a few days off sometime soon, though he also shared about an injured hyena civilian at Sahara. Johnson said the Mayor was coming back to City Hall today. Bogo only said everything was fine on his end.

"Checking the news?"

Fangmeyer looked up to see Delgato walking towards her. She wondered if he hadn't heard news, considering that he appeared all smiles.

"Yup," Fangmeyer replied his smile, then looked at her phone again.

Delgato then leaned one hip on the wall before taking a sip of Snarlbucks.

"A lot of news, huh? Otherwise you would have already been in the bullpen at this hour."

"... Yes."

"I happened to talk to Elxandre earlier," Delgato continued, "Remember the three missing mammals?"

"Yes, the two at Tundratown and the last one at Downtown."

"He only said he hadn't managed to find the brown bear," Delgato sighed, "Did Wolford say anything about the ones at Tundratown?"

"Not found yet."

"I see-"

Fangmeyer happened to look at the hallway and noticed Chief Clawhauser heading their direction.

"Morning, Chief," Fangmeyer greeted right after she stashed her phone.

"Morning, Chief," Delgato turned around and followed suit.

"Morning," Chief Clawhauser slid his phone into his pocket and started reading the dockets he was carrying at the same time.

Fangmeyer and Delgato said no words until the chief was out of view. Fangmeyer seemed to realize something as she immediately shot a question to Delgato.

"Sorry, were you saying something?"

"Eh? No," Delgato found her question rather abrupt.

"Oh?" Fangmeyer then looked alternatingly at Delgato and where the chief was heading, then buried her mouth in her mug. Delgato merely shrugged, having a rough idea what Fangmeyer meant.

* * *

Nick was at the canteen reading the news that morning when Officer Jackson sat beside him with coffee in paw.

"Morning, Wilde."

"Hey, morning, too, Jackson," Nick replied hastily.

"How are things on your end?"

"Everything's still under control."

"I see."

Jackson then appeared to be pondering. Nick wondered if he should guess what the next question would be.

"Just saying, Wilde, yesterday there was a bunny who came up to me saying that she was being stalked."

Nick raised an eyebrow. _That bunny really called the cops?_

"Apparently she was referring to you, given that she said something about a suspicious fox."

Nick nearly burst out laughing.

"What happened actually? Just curious; I'm not saying you have done something bad."

Nick then turned towards Jackson with the most convincing innocent face he could muster.

"See, I saw that bunny arguing with a fennec fox yesterday, and from the looks of things I was worried they would end up brawling. So I rushed to them and they immediately parted ways."

"I see," Jackson nodded, "But she didn't seem to realize you're a cop."

"Never told her. Never showed her."

Jackson guffawed.

"The way you say it makes me think you would do well for undercover."

"Really?" Nick wasn't sure if he should treat it as a compliment.

"Who knows?" Jackson then scratched his head.

"Just wondering, Jackson, did you tell her I'm a cop?"

"No, though that was because she just stormed off after saying you were stalking her," Jackson then finally sipped his coffee, "She did appear rather miffed."

 _What's that bunny's problem?_ Nick wondered if that bunny was so agitated after the argument with the fennec that she had to yell out her frustration at random mammals.

"Anything else on your end, Wilde?"

"No. Just some irate drivers whom we ticketed for using phones behind the wheel or driving too fast."

Jackson sighed, "Some mammals can be so ignorantly reckless."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, I'll be heading to the bullpen now," Jackson got up, "See you later."

Nick then spend the next few minutes by himself at the canteen waiting until it's time to head to the bullpen.

* * *

Officer Wolford was in an investigation room looking at a Tundratown map that had been scrawled and tagged at places. He whisked back to his search of the two missing mammals at Tundratown yesterday. So far, he, Andersen and Snarlov had combed about 30 percents of that district, generally focusing within a few miles around the missing mammals' residences and their last known locations.

Wolford pondered the possibility that the disappearances were kidnappings, given that the victims were last seen in locations where any given mammal could be found alone or isolated. The lack of information from witnesses served to enforce that notion. But while the polar bear was apparently quite affluent, having been an owner of a Furrari that once got impounded, the snow leopard was quite the opposite.

Wolford was aware that there was a mafia led by a polar bear known as Koslov at Tundratown, although ZPD didn't have complete information on the extent of Koslov's influence over Tundratown. Given that one of the missing was impoverished, there was indeed a possibility that the victims fell out with this Koslov, and thus went into hiding or were taken out.

Unable to draw a solid conclusion, Wolford decided to stop analyzing for now and left the investigation room. Chief would very likely assign him, Andersen and/or Snarlov again to the search.

He came across Higgins, Trumpet and Elxandre discussing something. He greeted the three and decided to mingle in case there was anything interesting in the news.

"So you said you and Rhinowitz ran into Bismarck's boys?" Higgins asked Trumpet.

"To be frank we could only surmise they were Bismarck's boys," Trumpet answered as he swung his trunk. He had that odd habit of swinging his trunk whenever he was talking in a tense situation.

"E' to think you were a' southern Savannah," Elxandre sighed, "Bismarck's normally known t'operate closer to Rainforest. It's 'sif he's expanding his grip."

Bismarck, another gangster. As far as Wolford knew, the Koslovs and the Bismarcks were different in terms of operation, which was probably one reason of their occassional altercations.

The Koslovs were firmly based at Tundratown, and they usually looked after themselves and their domain. That one time one of them cut a deal with ZPD so many years ago, when there was another chief before Clawhauser, was quite a shock. Then again, apparently the old Koslov patriarch and the current one were quite different as well; some had suspected the current patriarch overthrew his predecessor. But for the most part, the Koslovs were as tight-knit as they had always been, and maintained their grip on Tundratown by running protection rackets and financial businesses in competition with legitimate institutions.

The Bismarcks, meanwhile, were known to be a mish-mash of unrelated criminals led by the elusive Bismarck. Like the Koslovs, they were confined to a single district, in this case the Rainforest District. At least that was how they were until the rate of their activities suddenly spiked just half a year ago; like what they were discussing, apparently the Bismarcks had decided to spread their influence. Aside from doing shady businesses that were less-refined than what the Koslovs did, the Bismarcks had been suspected of offering mercenary services. There were rumors that the Bismarcks became more active out of disgruntlement for the new mayor, who was elected only less than a year ago.

"An'way, 'sit almost bullpen time," Elxandre mentioned.

"So, Wolford, what's the news?" Higgins asked on their way to the bullpen.

"Still not found," Wolford replied in his usual nigh-emotionless manner, "and no clue yet why and how."

Trumpet sighed.

"Chief will send you there 'gain, 'suppose?"

"Hm, hm."

"Here we are. I'll standby for Chief."

* * *

Bogo had just finished his cereal, and as he glanced at the clock he realized there was only three minutes left for the bullpen to start. He decided to have a second helping of breakfast, so he quickly poured colorful flakes right into his bowl and flipped the milk carton upside down. Nothing flowed out of the carton. Bogo sighed, then he started tossing the flakes into his mouth one by one as his smile returned.

"Don't be so loud, guys!"

In a split-second, Bogo guessed that was Trunkaby, as a stampede came over the headquarters. In order, Bogo saw Grizzoli, Andersen and Snarlov rushing straight towards the bullpen as each shot a hasty hello to Bogo. For some reason Bogo saw Snarlov running rather casually, and was that a smirk? Johnson and Trunkaby walked in soon after, with Trunkaby visibly chuckling, perhaps at the former three.

"Busy morning already?" Bogo inquired.

"Impromptu traffic control," Johnson replied as he combed his mane, "The mayor came back earlier than what we were told the last time."

"Oh, well, at least that's a good excuse to tell Chief."

"I told him already," Johnson waved his phone.

"Still, I guess some of us still don't like the idea of turning up late at all," Trunkaby chimed.

"Agreed. Well, we should head straight to the bullpen too."

The two then left after giving Bogo another wave. The buffalo chuckled at the entire short scene; reminded him of some police cartoon he saw some time back. His chuckle abated when he saw a small mammal walked in, a distraught otter.

"Welcome to ZPD, can I help you?" Bogo promptly leaned forward to greet the otter. _Hey Wilde, you should check this out,_ he giggled inside, _you're not the smallest mammal in the HQ today, oh, ho ho ho._

"Oh, hello," the otter appeared to smile a little, but she frowned again soon after. Bogo wondered what had happened to the otter.

"Aw, were you hurt? Did you get robbed?" Bogo then stopped himself, "My apologies, Ma'am, what can we help you with?"

"Thank you for your concern," the otter replied with a warm, but brief, smile, then took out a photo of a bespectacled otter, "My name is Emma Otterton, and I would like to submit a missing mammal case. My husband Emmitt had not returned home for two days."

"Oh, I see," Bogo gave an empathic nod, then proceeded, "We'll do our best to find him, Ma'am."

As Mrs. Otterton sighed in mild relief, Clawhauser quickly threw his gaze around and saw a bear officer walking closer. He immediately called the officer, Bjornsdotter, and asked her to help file Mrs. Otterton's report. As the bear and otter walked towards a counter, Bogo started guessing about the missing otter. Well, otters were small, so a missing one might be in places many of the large officers wouldn't be able to fit.

 _Well, there's Wilde._ Bogo chuckled inside. _Hey Wilde, looks like you've got a case incoming._


	4. Chapter 4: Afternoon Candy

Nick walked out of a Cherry Mousse patisserie joint, having had his lunch. His smile evaporated immediately as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his uniform; The scorching Sahara midday sun was a severe contrast to the chilly interior of the joint. Or maybe it was because the moose owner of the joint loved freezing weather, so she dropped the temperature that low. A question flashed in Nick's mind; Just how much did that moose spend regularly on air conditioning? It's amazing the menu was actually pretty cheap if the building maintenance fee really was steep.

Nick walked towards a parking lot where his cruiser was parked, some distance away from the patisserie joint. It annoyed him a little that parking spots nearer to any food establishment had all been taken, but that's what always happened during lunch hours.

Nick groaned as he reached the cruiser only to find that Howliwell hadn't returned. The wolf had said that he had an errand, thus the two didn't have lunch together. Either Nick wolfed down his lunch too fast, or Howliwell's errand was a long one, or both.

As Nick paced around in a nearby shade, he saw a bison and a rhino attending to a pushcart. Based on what little he could see, it appeared that the cart owner was selling confectionery, and he was proven right when the two large mammals, a bison and a rhino, walked towards his direction. The bison was carrying a red paw-shaped candy on a stick, but apparently wasn't in the mood for sweets judging from the way he carried the candy and that he hadn't immediately eaten it. With the bison now out of view, Nick decided to check out the cart.

"Pawpsicle! Get your pawpsicle!"

 _Hang on, that voice sounded familiar._ Nick slightly picked up his pace and finally saw a grey bunny manning the so-called-pawpsicle confectionery cart. Her purple eyes confirmed Nick's suspicion that she was that irate bunny he met yesterday.

"Hey, there," Nick cheekily greeted the bunny.

"Oh, hell-" the bunny seemed to recognize Nick as her ears suddenly just fell, "-o? Erm. Want some?"

There was a slight nervous smile on the bunny's face as she gestured at the pawpsicle stand. There's a sign that read "$2".

"Sure," Nick pulled out two dollars and gave it to the bunny, "First time I heard about pawpsicles, might as well give it a try."

The bunny took the payment and gave Nick one pawpsicle, her smile remaining tense. Nick wondered why; He hadn't caught that bunny breaking any law, so if she were wise, she shouldn't have been so uptight about merely talking to a cop. He then simply left with the pawpsicle he bought; Perhaps he shouldn't be too patronizing to that bunny right now as curious as he was on why she was so jittery. And maybe Howliwell had done his errand by now.

"Just wondering, Howliwell," Nick later asked the wolf when they were back on the roads, "ever heard of pawpsicle?"

"No," Howliwell spared a glance at what Nick was holding, "Is that it?"

"Yep," Nick nodded as he looked at the pawpsicle in his paw, stored inside a plastic container. He hadn't tasted it.

"You're suspecting that's Nip?"

"Truth to be told, yes. The bunny who sold it was nervous when she saw me."

"I see- Wait, whoa, what's that driver doing?"

The two spent the next ten minutes stopping another mammal who was driving while on the phone. At least this camel wasn't confrontational, although his profuse apology was grating.

"So you wanna take that pawpsicle to the lab later?" Howliwell resumed his query once they got back in the cruiser.

"Sure," Nick replied.

"That's nice."

"What is?"

"That you're finally about to take on a big case," Howliwell smiled.

"Woah, woah, Howliwell," Nich chuckled sheepishly, "Well, ok, I gotta admit that would look good in my résumé, but I think they'd send the seniors first to raid that bunny's hideout if she really were selling Nip."

"What's wrong with joining in the fun so early, Wilde? Heck, I was part of a Nip-busting team on my second month of work. Though frankly, only as backup who kept watch outside."

Nick began to ponder as he looked at the pawpsicle. _Doing a big cop job, huh? Well, yeah, I should be proud of it. Mom will be happy too._ A smile crept up on his muzzle, and Howliwell smiled back. Nick then realized something.

"Um, do you think the lab will be open late at night?"

"Yeah, there should be a few staff on night rotation. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, that's good. I don't want to take this thing home before sending it for examination tomorrow."

"Because your children might mistake it for treats."

Nick erupted into laughter, before composing himself quickly.

"Or you're single?" Howliwell concluded with a cheeky grin.

"I didn't know you're a joker," Nick stared back at Howliwell.

"Yeah? Well, Bogo shouldn't be the only one who can crack up others, ya know."

"True."

As they saw an ambulance went the opposite direction, Nick recalled something.

"Right, about the hyena yesterday," Nick turned towards Howliwell, "Do you think we've inquired him about what happened?"

"Oh, right, that," Howliwell then gestured in no particular to either the transceiver or his phone.

"Won't Bogo get mad if I ask him about this? I mean, he's a dispatcher, not interogator."

"If he doesn't know, I bet he'll get you someone who does."

"Ok."

Nick then called up Bogo and inquired about the hyena. Shortly later, Bogo had directed Nick to Jackson, who had met the hyena at the hospital this morning not long before he was discharged. Jackson remarked the hyena was strangely evasive, merely saying that he was at the alley when someone struck the back of his neck, and by the time he came to, he was against the wall feeling sore all over when a group of wildebeests found him. The hyena couldn't even provide the time, merely saying some time in the afternoon.

"Well, that was informative," Nick sighed, "Thanks, Jackson."

"Pleasure's mine, Wilde."

Nick then shook his head as he looked at Howliwell. It would appear the case with the hyena would remain a mystery for a while.

* * *

As before, Howliwell volunteered to file in the reports of his and Nick's traffic duty that day, especially with Nick having to go to the lab to submit the pawpsicle for examination. This was Nick's first time going to the lab, and he was unsure what to expect. The submission process itself was quite fast, but Nick couldn't help wonder why the staff said Dr. Hurriett would have the results ready only by tomorrow noon. Maybe that was normal.

It was a few minutes past sundown when Nick was about to leave home. He noticed that Bogo was preoccupied with his phone, so he decided to just wave at the buffalo in case he actually noticed. A few chuckles from Bogo tickled Nick's curiosity, and he looked back at the buffalo.

"Wow, you're one hot dancer, Benjamin Bogo."

 _Wait, what?_ Nick decided to check it out, and Ben eventually noticed Nick walking towards him.

"Ooh, hey, Wilde! Not going home?"

"Oh, actually yes," Nick suddenly wondered if he should have just left without bugging Ben, "Sorry if I interrupt your fun."

"Naw, that's ok," Ben cheerfully replied, then an idea seemed to pop in his mind, "Oh, you know what, Wilde, why don't you check this out?"

After a few swipes on the phone, Ben showed an app named 'Dancing With Gazelle'. The first thing the app asked was selfie photos.

"So what happens is that, you snap a few pics of yourself, say your name," Ben demonstrated, "and just wait a bit... and ta dah!"

The screen then first showed Gazelle dancing to an upbeat song. A few while later, a tiger dancer came into view... except that his head had been replaced with Ben's head.

"Cute, isn't it?" Ben spoke in between chuckling, "Now anyone can be dancing with Gazelle- well, I know it's not real but it's still pretty awesome, dontcha think?"

"Um, yes, that's cute," Nick wasn't sure what to say as he was also in the midst of giggling, but he figured if Ben enjoyed it, so be it.

"Hey, I got another idea!" Ben suddenly aimed his phone at Nick, "Smile, Wilde!"

Nick reflexively smiled, unsure what was going on. It was only later when Ben said his name on the phone that he realized.

"Wow, you're one hot dancer, Nicholas Wilde."

Nick couldn't help but laugh at how odd his face looked like on the app.

"Ben, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Chief," Ben promptly greeted Chief Clawhauser who just came into the scene, and Nick instinctively straightened up, "Just showing Wilde this Gazelle app."

That entire short exchange, capped off with Chief probably smiling when replying with a mere "Oh", left Nick frozen and perplexed in saluting position.

"Look, Wilde's going home soon, so don't hold him up unnecessarily, okay?"

Chief Clawhauser then walked away seemingly not noticing Ben nodding and Nick flabbergasted. He walked past Howliwell, now in full civilian clothes, about to leave the HQ.

"Oh, Chief, hi," Howliwell saluted the chief.

"Off soon, Howliwell? Say hi to your family from ZPD."

"Sure, Chief."

And Chief then left. Howliwell then looked at Nick and Ben as he made his exit.

"See ya another day, Bogo, Wilde."

Nick waved in confusion. He then turned back to Ben.

"Another day?"

"Oh, Howliwell didn't tell you? He'll be taking a few days off starting tomorrow."

 _Oh, so that's why Chief talked about sending his regards._

"Oh, oh, oh, speaking of busy-"

Nick stared at Ben in puzzlement.

"Didja know what happened this morning when you're in the bullpen?"

After seeing Nick raise an eyebrow, Ben continued.

"There's an otter who went missing," Ben capped that with a gasp, "His wife looked so sad when she walked in to submit a missing mammal case."

 _That made it four now, at least,_ Nick pondered.

"Since it's an otter, a small, sweet little otter, I reckon Chief probably will send you on the search. That's why I think you'll be busy soon."

 _Interesting. First, the possible Nip-busting. Now, missing otter._ Nick couldn't hide his smile in the prospect of doing real police work. A tune playing from Ben's phone interrupted his thought.

"Oh, silly me, the app is still on," Ben chuckled, "and look, it still has your face."

As much as Nick found that amusing, he recalled something.

"About Chief, are you not worried that he's mad at you for," Nick pointed at Ben's phone, "that?"

"He's not mad," Ben cheerfully replied.

"Really?"

"You will know when he gets mad, Wilde," Ben showed a hint of frown, "If he ever demands you come to his office personally, that's usually bad news."

Nick just gulped. Judging from the way Ben conveyed that, being in personal audience with the chief was a terrible thing.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, come on, Wilde, don't be so tense. It's not like Chief will eat you unless you really screw up."

 _Hopefully that was figurative._

"Well, the app's been fun. I'm heading home soon-"

"What's a' with ya, chompa?"

A slurred voice was heard from outside. Nick and Ben turned to see Andersen and Johnson hauling in a drunk wildebeest. Nick suspected drunk driving.

"My ne'bor drinks more tha'me, and he neva' got arrested. 'Sit cause he'za bear, huh?" The wildebeest turned right towards Andersen and burped. It wasn't hard to guess that Andersen wanted to sock the perp.

"Drunk driver," Johnson told Nick and Ben.

"Ho' nany grazers ya'all gonna throw to jail for havin' some shots, huh? Huh?" The perp could be heard cursing as he was hauled to the cells.

Nick sighed, "Way to ruin my beauty sleep tonight."

"Oh, I'm sad to hear that, Wilde."

Nick was wondering if Ben was upset about the same thing as he.

"What's the matter, Wilde?" Ben's question snapped Nick out of his thought.

"Oh, something came up," Nick waved that off, "Anyway, I'm heading home. See ya tomorrow, Bogo."

"Ok, Wilde. Try 'Dancing With Gazelle', maybe it'll make you happy."

Nick smiled at Ben's suggestion. Yeah, maybe that's not a bad idea.


	5. Chapter 5: Hectic

The bullpen was considerably more packed this morning compared to other days. Nick paid little attention to whatever the other officers were doing and just headed straight to his usual front seat. He sometimes wondered why he had always had that seat for him as the other officers didn't always sit on the same seats all the time. Was it because he always stood on the seat?

Once Nick was on his seat, he looked at the map. True to what Ben said yesterday, there was a photo of a bespectacled otter tagged to Sahara Square. This bothered Nick; He didn't recall seeing any otter during his last two days of traffic enforcement at Sahara. Was he not observant enough?

That wasn't all; there were also photos of a wolf and a tiger tagged also to Sahara. What's with all these missing mammals all of a sudden? And the previous three also had not been found.

"Atten-hut!"

Chief Clawhauser entered the bullpen following that order wearing his familiar stoic expression. Nick smiled when he harkened to how unusually relaxed Chief was last night. Chief distributed orders as tersely as he had always been, but with the other officers having been assigned to all the districts, Nick wondered where he would be assigned to.

"Wilde, traffic enforcement, Downtown and Savannah. Dismissed."

 _Traffic enforcement again, and not at Sahara Square either._ Nick was resigned to the assignment. _Let the big shots handle the big cases first, right?_

* * *

After ticketing a coyote who went past the speed limit, Nick continued his work this morning at Downtown. He was slightly amused at how early his first ticketing was, not even ten minutes after he left the HQ, which was quite too soon even considering the so-called morning rush hour.

Nick happened to drive past the City Hall when he saw some figures emerging from the building, a sizeable sheep in business suit, followed by a horned sheep about as large and a rhino. Nick recognized the first sheep as the city mayor, Douglas Bellwether, so the other two were probably his aides or bodyguards. Nick wondered if the mayor was going off-town for yet another business trip as the three figures headed into a limousine. Just before they got in, Nick saw another figure emerging from the building, a lion in a shirt and tie, harriedly trying to reach the mayor with documents in hand. That was the deputy mayor, Leodore Lionheart, and it never ceased to amuse Nick on how the deputy mayor looked far busier than the mayor. Nick paid no further heed and drove off.

The clock struck eleven as Nick came out of a Swine&Elephant outlet somewhere at Savannah for some slurpee. While Savannah Central was nowhere near as scorching as the Sahara, the cloudless morning bumped up the temperature quite a bit. As Nick neared his cruiser, he saw a scooter parked haphazardly at a florist shop some distance away. Nick was about to drive off when he saw a small mammal bolt out of the florist shop with a duffel bag and get off on the scooter onto the streets. Whatever it was Nick suspected, he then saw a panicked pig emerge from the florist.

"Help! Help! Thief!"

Nick quickly ran up to the pig.

"Sir, what happened?"

"That weasel!", the pig frantically pointed at the small mammal on the scooter, "He robbed my store!"

"I'm on it!"

Nick promptly got into his cruiser and chased after the thief. He was a little excited; this would be the first time he did a so-called real police work.

The sound of blaring siren alerted the thief, a lanky weasel wearing a white undersized singlet, who then tried to speed up.

"This is Wilde to dispatch, 10-31 at Flora & Fauna florist at Savannah, weasel suspect heading north and I'm in pursuit!"

Wilde partially regretted calling to dispatch while on the chase as he ended up swerving a few times to avoid the relatively sluggish traffic. At least he didn't have to go against the flow- okay, at least once. That was close. Nick kept an eye on the perp, but while he was closing the distance, the weasel swiveled left into a narrow alley.

 _Damn it._

Nick saw a junction right in front of him, so he quickly made a left turn, hoping that alley only went straight and thus he might be able to intercept the weasel on the next junction. He made another sharp left turn, all the while scrutinizing in case there was an alley to his left that the perp might still be in.

Before he knew it, something crashed onto his cruiser- right on the driver's door. As Nick recoiled from the shock, reflexively spinning his cruiser in the process, he caught sight of the weasel, who left the now-totaled scooter and tried to escape with the duffel bag to a construction site across the road.

"This is Wilde. Suspect escaping on foot to construction site at Acacia."

That was all Nick radioed before he resumed his chase. He summoned all his might to catch up to the weasel, who was seemingly shocked at how fast Nick suddenly became. The weasel tried to slow Nick down by throwing timbers and barrels along the way to obstruct Nick.

 _This is nothing compared to the obstacle course at the academy,_ Nick thought as he jumped and slid his way before he climbed a low stack of concrete blocks and lunged towards the perp. _Gotcha!_

Nick managed to catch and lock onto the weasel, and the two rolled some distance away until they crashed violently onto a stack of bricks by a metal fence. As Nick cuffed the weasel, he heard a scream from the other side of the fence, and he realized a part of the metal fence was toppling under the shifted weight of the bricks.

 _Crap!_

Nick quickly climbed over a still-standing part of the fence as he heard a thud, the sound of a crashing fence and a groan of pain. He saw two mammals: One female moose on a sitting position on the pavement, apparently shocked but otherwise unharmed, and one male tiger lying face down but still conscious, with the fallen fence and bricks having landed on him and some books strewn all around him.

"911, this is Officer Nicholas Wilde from ZPD," Nick immediately called the ambulance as soon as he reached the injured tiger, "Male tiger injured by heavy objects at 34 Acacia West."

As he waited for a confirmation that an ambulance would be coming, Nick then tried to lift all the debris off the tiger. While he was doing so, he saw the cuffed weasel running back towards the earlier entrance of the site. Nick decided that helping this tiger civilian was priority. After moving everything off the tiger, Nick caught his breath, then was about to radio to dispatch about the perp when he saw some flashing sirens at the other entrance.

"Wilde, this is Krumpanski," Nick heard something from his transceiver, "We managed to nab the weasel."

Nick felt glad. He then radioed back to Krumpanski.

"This is Wilde to Krumpanski. I'm waiting for ambulance on the other side. There's an injured civilian."

"Roger that," Krumpanski replied, "Any article that can serve as evidence for this perp?"

After looking around, Nick noticed the duffel bag the weasel was carrying had been flung and tucked away in some corner.

"I'll grab it later, it's near me."

"Ok, see you at the HQ later, Wilde."

Some time after, an ambulance arrived to pick up the injured tiger. The moose was fine, so she was let go after one or two questions. After the ambulance left, Nick headed back to his cruiser with the bag, eager to report back about helping to nab a criminal.

* * *

Nick arrived back at the HQ with the weasel's duffel bag, the evidence of robbery, in hand. He couldn't stop thinking how everyone would feel if they heard him catch a criminal. Finally, he had become a real cop. Or something.

Nick noticed Ben talking at the intercom, so he merely waved at the buffalo.

"Hey, Wilde, welcome back!" Ben actually noticed Nick. Maybe it was the duffel bag.

"Yo, Bogo!"

"Bogo, is that Wilde nearby?" came Chief Clawhauser's voice from the intercom.

"Uh," Bogo sounded a little concerned, "Yes, he's here."

"Tell him to see me."

Ben and Nick exchanged worried looks.

* * *

"So you saw that weasel rob a florist and gave chase all the way through a construction site, and in the end you only got a duffel bag with some moldy onions."

Chief Clawhauser summarized the events Nick got involved in earlier that day, at the same time pointing at the duffel bag which contained some plant bulbs. Despite the chief's plain expression, Nick couldn't help but feel that Chief was seething at him.

"Did you not notice that your bravado has caused severe damage?"

Nick gulped. Well, there was that scuffle at the construction site, as well as a civilian who got injured as a collateral. Then it hit Nick; what would others think about the damages that had happened during the chase?

"First, Wilde, you drove like a madman to catch the suspect and nearly caused several vehicular collisions."

Nick didn't know if he should counterargue.

"Then you chased the suspect to a construction site. Not only that, you caused a near civilian casualty, and you had to let the suspect get away because of that."

Nick felt he really should retort, but he wasn't sure what to say.

"Wilde, you are a police officer, and a police officer should protect and serve. How do you justify your role to protect by causing so much havoc just to catch a petty thief?"

"But, Chief-"

"What would you do if... someone not only got hurt, but killed?"

Nick flinched. He was trying to think up an excuse, a rebuttal, but whatever he wanted to say evaporated when Chief mentioned about death.

"S-sir, I just wanted to- to help catch th-the thief. Bring him to justice," Nick stammered.

"Like I said, Wilde," at this point, Nick felt like Chief could explode at any moment despite no change in his tone, "just because you want to catch a petty thief doesn't mean you can just endanger other mammals by dragging them into a hazardous situation like this. Protect and serve. And getting someone unjustifiably hurt is not protecting them."

Chief Clawhauser huffed, then looked around as if trying to find more words to say while tapping the desk with his fingers. Nick only waited silently.

"Starting today, I'm assigning you to records until further notice," Chief paused in between his conclusion, "And in the meantime I will review your situation today. Dismissed."

* * *

 _Five... six... seven..._

Nick wasn't sure why he was keeping track of how many officers he walked past after leaving Chief's office. He wasn't even sure if the officers were what he was counting either. As he was walking dejectedly to the records office, his mind was a jumbled mess of anger, regret, disappointment and whatever else he wasn't noticing.

In retrospect, he wondered why he suddenly went gung-ho like that trying to catch a thief. Should he have stopped his cruiser at the first exit of the alley? Should he have refrained from chasing the perp through the construction site? Should he have just relayed the crime and let anyone else in the vicinity handle that? Should he have been more assertive to Chief?

"Some water, Wilde?"

" _Gah!_ "

In a split second Nick wondered why he jumped like that, especially once he realized it was just Deputy Chief Higgins who talked to him. Nick could only bury his face in his paws.

"Heard from Bogo. Looks like you just got an earful from Clawhauser," Higgins continued, offering a glass of water to Nick, "Have a drink. Should help you to cool down."

Nick then stared at Higgins and the glass of water on his hoof. After a while, he nodded and took the water.

"I'll be seeing Chief soon. Anything you wanted to say that you hadn't?"

Nick gawked, but then he quickly shook his head. When he saw Higgins raise an eyebrow, Nick shook his head again.

"Okay."

Higgins then continued his walk. Nick stared at the now-empty glass of water. Well, not sure if it helps me to cool down, but it does nothing otherwise. Nick sighed. He'd return the glass to the canteen first before going to the records office.

* * *

Chief Clawhauser was perusing some documents and making notes when he heard some knocks on the door.

"Come in."

Higgins entered the office with a few dockets in hand. At least one of them has 'ZPA' label.

"Oh, Thomas," Chief greeted Thomas, "Just back from the academy, I take it?"

"Not exactly just," Thomas sat down and gave Chief most of the dockets in his hoof, "Sounds like Wilde just made a ruckus."

"Yeah."

Chief set aside what he was working to receive Thomas' dockets. He immediately sought out the summary, and though it was barely perceptible, Thomas could see a jaded frown. At the same time, Thomas saw a duffel bag with some plant smell emanating from it, but he then decided to focus on the report he gave Chief first.

"Another batch, another lopsided statistics," Thomas tried to express his displeasure in a subdued manner.

"No kidding," Chief continued to pore over the reports, "From a handful of preys in the previous batch to zero in the current one. Whatever the hell happens with them?"

"I even asked Friedkin about this, but she's not very sure why."

"Of course she won't know, Tom. It's not her job to attract recruits or filter admissions. You know what, we're going again to ZPA personally some time."

Chief finished reading the Zootopia Police Academy reports and put them aside, then returned to what he was working before Thomas came in.

"Anyway, Tom, I need your help to gather witness statements regarding Wilde's case around Acacia, especially," Chief then gave some notes to Thomas, "around these places."

"So what happened?" Thomas inquired.

"A small-time weasel crook stole some florist goods," Chief pointed out at the duffel bag, and Thomas now saw plant bulbs inside, "and Wilde gave chase as though the crook cleaned up a bank."

Thomas snickered inside, but otherwise he now knew why Ben said that Chief asked to see Wilde personally and why Wilde looked so dejected like that. However, Thomas almost missed out Chief tapping the desk; there's something major about this case.

"There was even an injured civilian."

 _No wonder you look so miffed._

"And that reminds me. That weasel's been on Krumpanski's hitlist for some time, so ask him if he ever told Wilde about it."

"Aye, Frank."

"Oh, and how about McHorn?"

Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"Ok."

"I'll be off then," Thomas then left the office while Frank merely nodded.

* * *

It was already nighttime when Nick clocked out. After the session with Chief, he slowly regained his composure even when he was working at records, and he did his best to keep a sunny disposition even after discovering the sheer amount of work to be done. If it took six straight hours to clean up the records with his help, just how much time would that other records officer alone would have needed?

Still, he couldn't avoid dropping his smile when Ben asked him about what happened. The buffalo even offered a donut hoping to cheer him up, but Nick declined, having lost his appetite and mood when he saw Ben looking no less forlorn at his situation. Nick had wanted to say that Ben was faultless, and in fact he had wanted to thank Ben for the warning, yet he had the feeling that Ben wouldn't buy it. He had known that Ben was generous when it came to sympathy.

When Nick looked ahead to see an alley, he saw a small mammal, a sheep, emerge from it. The sheep appeared to kiss cheeks with someone still inside the alley.

"... thanks for the help, Judy."

Nick began to hear what the female bespectacled sheep said.

"Oh, you know Dawn, like you said-"

 _That voice!_

"Us little guys really need to stick together," Dawn the sheep chimed.

"Like glue," Judy replied, and she finally revealed herself to be the pawpsicle bunny.

The sheep stopped giggling for a while when she saw Nick, who tried to feint disinterest, then she waved at the bunny as she left to who-knows-where. Nick then stopped while looking on at Dawn, and Judy then noticed him.

"Oh, it's you," Judy began with a smile which could mean corteous welcome or masked jeer.

Nick only gave a thin smile in return. He wasn't in the mood for chatting with someone who might be dealing Nip. Which reminded him that he hadn't checked if Dr. Hurriett had finished the examination. He then proceeded to walk past the bunny.

"Being a cop seems pretty cool, huh?" Judy then started to walk apace with Nick, causing him to stop near a Snarlsbuck storefront.

"And why are you telling me this?" Nick turned to face Judy, replying her smirk in kind.

"Because then you get to be a daredevil and get away with it."

Nick scoffed. Did his weasel-catching antic become headline news?

"I mean, if I were to drive 100 miles per hour downtown, I'd get hauled off to the cells, right? Not to mention breaking into private property. And bruising some innocent bystander. Did you get an award for that?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. This bunny couldn't have been so crazy as to think of blackmailing him with this, right? Judy's words did highlight the fact that his actions probably would have been the news of the day, so why would she talk as though she were blackmailing him? If nothing else it only reminded him how absorbed he was with the records that he hadn't checked the latest news that afternoon.

"Well, it's good for citizens to be up-to-date with the current events," Nick wondered what could help shut this bunny up.

"Ah yup," Judy threw her hands up then began walking away.

For some reason Nick wanted to know if this Judy actually had another answer to his question.

"Hey, bunny."

Judy turned around and muttered a somewhat annoyed, "What?"

"Why are you saying all these? It's like you're just repeating some news you heard."

Judy didn't reply. She then continued on her way. Nick only sighed. _What's that bunny's problem?_ Nick then continued his way home, not noticing if there was anything or anyone else across the nigh-empty street.

* * *

Nick stashed his phone just as he reached home. His weasel chase indeed was a hot topic earlier that afternoon. Given the hodgepodge of remarks he read on it, he wondered if he should really have read every article relating to that.

That aside, he had also checked a reply from the lab about the pawpsicle. There was nothing illegal in the composition, which made Nick wonder why that bunny, Judy, was so fidgety when she was talking to him that time. It seemed that it wasn't the pawpsicle that she was skittish about. Come to think of it, that bunny sounded more confident when she tore into him earlier. And he still had no idea why she was at all interested in his mess this morning.

"Mom, I'm home."

Nick didn't immediately see his mother, but the turned-on TV suggested that she was probably in the kitchen. Sure enough, Mrs. Wilde could be heard putting something on the dining table before she walked to greet him.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," she hugged him and then caressed his head, noting his drooping ear, "I take it it was a rough day?"

Nick wondered if his mom had heard about his weasel case, given that she probably was at work when the news was officially published. He was choosing his words as she took him to the dinner table.

"Um, yeah," was all he could muster until he was sat with a savory soup right in front of him.

Mrs. Wilde then sat beside him and took his paw and petted it with concern.

"Sweetheart, what did they do to you after that?"

 _So she indeed heard._ Nick huffed dejectedly.

"They moved me to records until further notice."

Mrs. Wilde rubbed Nick's head softly. While Nick could still see worry on her face, it seemed that she wasn't so distraught.

"Sweetheart, sorry to hear that," Mrs. Wilde sighed a little, "but at least you're still in the force, right?"

Nick only nodded, although those last words suddenly made him worry about his future prospect. What if his case today led to him being stuck at records? Or worse, they would deem him unfit for police duty and fire him?

"Nick," his mom seemed to have read Nick's mind, "I can only help pray that this will pass. But I'm sure your dedication to serving the public will get through them eventually."

Mrs. Wilde kissed Nick on the forehead.

"I know you have what it takes to be a police officer. I hope they can see that too," Mrs. Wilde then nudged Nick to enjoy the dinner, "For now, eat up. Whatever happens tomorrow, you'll be fine, sweetheart."

Nick tried his best to smile, and he decided to just have his dinner and later take a rest for tomorrow. He began to wonder: What should he do to become a good cop?

* * *

 _ **#####**_

 _ **#####**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **Yep, another swap. I chose Doug over Dawn here for Mayor over Lionheart mostly because having the tiny Dawn bossing around the huge Lionheart is too comical for my taste; Doug at least is well-sized. Though it's still Mayor Bellwether, which I chose because the word _bellwether_ in English means some kind of leader.**


	6. Chapter 6: At The Desk

Morning at the records was shockingly dull for Nick, who had been accustomed to dealing with various mammals at various locales across Zootopia by 10 plus. There was practically no paperwork this morning, a stark contrast to his work yesterday where there was so much documenting and sorting to be done. Nick wondered if that was normal.

The only interesting thing that morning was when Ben told him that the friends of the tiger he helped yesterday sent him thanks. He was awed by the news, and merely nodded when Ben offered to send regards in Nick's stead.

Having finished working on the last reports he got almost an hour ago, Nick decided to intersperse his work with checking the database, especially anything related to his case yesterday.

Nick now knew that the weasel, named Duke Weaselton, was a repeat offender of snatch thefts. He now knew that Krumpanski actually had tried to arrest Duke for another theft for several days before yesterday to no avail. That was the reason why, when Nick radioed about Duke, Krumpanski decided to bring some help to nab the weasel, such as Delgato's team. He now knew the stolen items were _Midnicampum holichitias_ plant bulbs, a Class C Botanical plant normally used as insecticide.

An officer came in and handed a heavy stack of documents to Nick. He drooped ever so slightly after sizing up the stack. Work was finally picking up.

* * *

Nick finally finished the massive stack of documents he received this morning, satisfaction beaming from his face. He then looked at the clock and jumped upon seeing 2:54. He was so absorbed at work that he forgot to take lunch, and as if in accord, his stomach suddenly grumbled. Nick sighed. He then hasted to the canteen to grab something from the vending machine.

There was nobody at the canteen that late afternoon, or perhaps given that it was not official break time, there was nobody lounging there. Nick merely bought a bun from the vending machine and headed back to the records office. Right before Nick entered the records office, having finished his bun as quickly as he walked back, he bumped into a bear officer, Bjornsdotter, carrying a few dockets.

"Ooh, hey, Wilde, is it?" Bjornsdotter saluted Nick, "Didn't know you're here."

"Oh, yeah, I'm here today, at least," Nick chuckled.

"Ookay, then, how about I hand these over to you for documentation?" Bjornsdotter waved the dockets in her paw, "We just got more missing mammal cases today."

"What?" Nick then realized he yelped a little too loudly, "I mean, more of them?"

"Yeah. Threee of them reported in a single day today. I think there were also two more yesterday, not sure if you've seen them?"

Nick was aghast. That made it eleven missing mammals, and that the reports all came in in the span of so few days sounded troubling. While processing all those information, Nick also wondered if he could have helped with the case. Then it hit him; he was working at records right now, so maybe he could dig as much information as he needed.

"Okay, I'll help out with those," Nick extended his paws towards Bjornsdotter.

"Ookay, thanks," Bjornsdotter then handed over the dockets before leaving with a 'see ya' without seeing Nick off to the records office.

* * *

Nick was a little surprised that it was already almost 6 when he finished the second to last stack of documents he got right after handling the missing mammal reports he got from Bjornsdotter. He weighed the option of staying late tonight to review all the missing mammal cases versus clocking out as soon as he could. Perhaps it's best to finish this up first, then decide later, he thought. He thus dove into the paperwork, hoping to finish the last stack in less than 30 minutes. And then maybe he could try looking into the missing mammal cases afterwards.

Nick was so engrossed with work that he didn't realize Chief Clawhauser had been right behind him for some time.

"Wilde!" Chief spoke more loudly this time in addition to tapping Nick's shouder, and only then the fox turned around.

"Oh! Ah, um, Chief, yes, sir."

"Once you're done with that, could you come over to my office?"

Nick's heart sank. _Another private session with Chief?_

"Um... okay."

"You can have this first," Chief placed a bottled drink on Nick's desk, "then focus on those now that you're almost done. Then you can come over."

Chief left without another word, leaving Nick nonplussed. Another session with Chief could have meant the end of his police career, but that could not justify how suddenly nice Chief was by giving him water to cool down, like what Higgins did yesterday. Wait, not water; the effervescence hinted it was energy drink. Nick decided to continue his work and guess the situation later.

* * *

It was almost an hour since Chief visited Nick at the records that Nick finally arrived at Chief's office. He was ever so anxious; What was it that Chief wanted to notify him? No matter how much he tried to compose himself, he couldn't calm down. Finally he reached for the door knob and opened the door.

"Good... evening, Chief?"

"Come in, Wilde."

Nick wasn't sure if Chief's impassive expression was a cause for comfort or the worst news ever. He then proceeded to seat himself while Chief was perusing some dockets and writing notes.

"I have reviewed your situation yesterday, Wilde. Based on witness statements we got, we can let you off the hook this time, so you can go back to the bullpen tomorrow."

Chief then glanced at Nick, apparently oblivious to the fox's gawking.

"Perhaps there's anything you want to ask or say?"

"Ah, um... thank you, Chief, I guess."

Nick began to leave Chief's office, though something came up in his mind.

"Um, if I may ask, Chief," Nick then faced Chief with a somewhat worried look, "What... uh, what happened with the injured civilian? Uh, I mean..."

Nick was scrambling for words when Chief replied.

"It's already covered."

Nick wondered if that would be a good thing.

"Anything else?"

Nick shook his head.

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

Nick spent some more time at the records checking out on the missing mammal cases. It wasn't very fruitful; Aside from the fact that the victims were all last seen at locations where they might be found isolated at night, the only other pattern he could see was that they were all predators. He wondered if a good night's rest could help him focus better on this.

Nick was amused that Ben was still at the receptionist at this late hour. Talk about dedicated. With Ben in the midst of answering some dispatch call, Nick left a handwave to him on his way out.

The walk home was quiet; maybe because it was considerably later than any other day. Aside from the sparse sounds of passing cars, there was little murmurs from the neighborhood.

And a sound of beating.

Nick instinctively took cover behind a car, though he quickly chided himself as he might have set off the car alarm. He quickly assessed the situation; the sound of beating, punching perhaps, came from a nearby alley, so he approached it and slowly took a peek inside.

He slowly saw a figure, a small one. It was a bunny who seemed to punching and kicking someone. Was that the pawpsicle bunny?

Nick was dumbfounded once he saw the whole scene. The bunny, the Judy he saw yesterday, was punching and kicking something, that something being a worn-out mattress someone had thrown out at the back alley. The bunny eventually took a break, and she realized that Nick had been staring at her.

"Hey, hey, if it isn't Mr. Daredevil?"

 _Oh, so now you're resorting to name-calling, huh?_

"Well," Nick shrugged, "never knew you were a kickboxer or something."

After a sarcastic laugh, Judy continued.

"So what, Mr. Fuzzball, you want to arrest me for committing," she made a mock gasp while pointing at the mattress, "assault and battery?"

"Our law protects citizens, which unfortunately in this case, doesn't include your current victim."

Judy laughed, and in the next few seconds she gave a burst of short jabs at the mattress. Nick was about to leave when he remembered something.

"I should ask you about this now that you know I'm a cop, having forgotten about it the other times."

Judy turned to him with a smirk.

"So you do want to arrest me for-"

"That joke already got old, Bunny," Nick cut her off, "I just want to ask you about three days ago, Saguaro Boulevard."

Judy showed a slight frown.

"I saw you came out of an alley at that area, and later that day we got a report of an injured hyena inside the same alley you came out from," Nick paused, "Do you know anything about him?"

Judy tilted her head a little as she answered, "No."

"I see."

Nick scratched his chin. This bunny probably was hiding something, or she was predisposed to being jittery with the cops.

"That's ok, it's just that the case was still open, so I'm still collecting statements."

"Even this late at night?" There was a strange tone of amazement in Judy's reply.

"That's what cops do when there's a case," Nick gave a smile that took the bunny aback, "I know there's a few officers who are still working this late."

For some reason Judy appeared to be pondering, although it was her foot-thumping that got Nick's attention.

"Good night, citizen."

Nick's farewell jolted Judy. He hadn't moved far when he heard a "Wait! Wait!" as she caught up to him. He turned to see her, slightly befuddled by what appeared to be wonder in her purple eyes.

"You know," Judy started talking, but stammered, "You know, I'm thinking... I've never really seen a police officer as small as you."

"You sure about that, citizen?" Nick shot a teasing question despite the fact that Judy was right.

"Hey, I have seen a few cops you know," Judy made it sound like it was an achievement, "and before you, I've never seen anyone smaller than a wolf."

"Observant, citizen."

"Oh, cheesecrackers, I have a name, Mr. Bushtail."

"So do I, Carrots."

Judy grew a little irate, although Nick had expected her to instead flip out. Nick thought this bunny looked too trigger-happy, but he figured that if the bunny insisted on calling names, he could use that as a rebuttal, as much as it was more likely that he would be the one getting reprimand.

"So, what's your name, citizen?"

Nick decided to play courteous, and the bunny's expression grew into a slight puzzlement.

"Judy Hopps. Call me Judy."

"And I'm Officer Nicholas Wilde, or Nick Wilde for short," Nick saluted.

"So, uh, back to what I was asking..."

Nick tried to rewind their conversation. The last actual question the bunny asked was whether police officers work til late at night. Then he suddenly realized this bunny seemed to have a certain interest.

"Since you're so small compared to the other officers, how did you manage to be a cop?"

Nick wondered how much he should answer. Maybe a generic reply would suffice.

"Well, I just went to the police academy, did well and boom- I became a police officer."

"That's... it?"

There was clear doubt in Judy's reply. Nick became apprehensive to her inquisitiveness.

"Okay, then," came her dejected reply.

"Did you, um, ever try to enroll?" Nick wondered why he suddenly asked that.

"Uh, um- Oh, look, I think I gotta go, just-"

Judy then quickly walked away as though about to cry, but then she turned around to give one last word.

"Bye, Officer Wilde."

And she went off into the night. Nick pondered about what he should have done. Dealing with a citizen for too long at night like this might turn into a scandal, and he just got out of a big one. Perhaps he could ask for advice from other officers about this. Nick shook his head and started walking again, but he saw an eye-catching van across the road ahead of him. He could scarcely make out some kitschy grafitti on it, and realized it could have been the same van that belonged to the fennec fox. A cursory glance at the van revealed that it was currently not in use; That fennec was probably somewhere nearby. Nick huffed and continued his way home.


	7. Chapter 7: About Judy

Nick missed the bullpen, even though he had been away from it for just one day. Wolford asked him if he's ok, something he didn't expect Wolford to ask. Johnson wasn't arm-wrestling with Andersen because the bear was currently not in. Delgato now sat at the front beside Fangmeyer, with Grizzoli right behind them. Nick then headed to his usual seat, wondering if anyone took it yesterday.

Nick's joyful expression subsided when he saw the map. Eleven missing mammals, including the six he had seen previously. Remembering what he read at the records, he recalled that the first case, a brown bear, was submitted exactly last week, but the bear himself was reportedly last seen two weeks ago. How could they have so utterly eluded ZPD? Were they all still alive? Nick thought that his smaller size might have helped search in places where the rest of ZPD could not reach, but still, these disappearances left him stumped.

Eventually Chief entered the bullpen and opened with something different.

"We have eleven cases of missing mammals, all predators. Starting today, these take priority."

 _Seems normal, given that eleven missing mammals were a lot_ , Nick thought. He eagerly waited as Chief assigned the rest of the officers on the search across Zootopia. Eventually Nick was the only one left in the room.

"Officer Wilde, parking duty. Dismissed."

A few long seconds passed as Nick thought of arguing about getting such menial task again. Still, he considered that after that Weaselton case, still being kept in the force was a better deal and complaining about this might turn ugly. Nick then happened to look at Chief and was a little confused when he saw that Chief looked like he was expecting something.

"Uh, yes, Chief?"

"If you have questions, Wilde, ask away."

So Chief really was expecting something. Of course, given that unlike the rest Nick didn't immediately leave after hearing his assignment, it was normal for Chief to become curious.

"Nothing, sir," Nick put up the best smile he could muster before bolting off. He could hear Chief huff.

* * *

Having done traffic enforcement as well as a chase the days before, Nick wasn't quite looking forward to doing parking duty again. But after the Weaselton case, Nick figured that something mild wan't a bad thing. After all, he's still in ZPD in the end; he'd rather not push his luck asking for much more so soon after that near-fiasco.

Nick was writing a parking ticket somewhere near Jerry Jumbeaux's cafe when he saw an elephant customer walk out with a huge red ice pop. Nick wondered if that was the fabled Jumbo Pop that he once heard from Trunkaby; The biggest cold treat in Zootopia, and it's hard to argue against that. He snickered when imagining how many of the larger ZPD officers liked Jumbo Pop; Trunkaby and Trumpet were obvious, but Higgins was pretty big too, and there's also Chief.

Chief eating Jumbo Pop. Now that's a scene.

Nick finished writing his tickets, but then he happened to see that the elephant customer hadn't eaten the Jumbo Pop, and instead crossed the road and reached a white van to stash the pop. As Nick scrutinized the van, he noticed there seemed to be a small mammal at the passenger seat. With tall, grey ears. Curiosity took him over, and as the van left, Nick decided to follow.

Nick found the white van parked at Sahara Square near a roofless derelict building somewhere near the Savannah. Even at 10 in the morning, the Sahara was as sweltering as ever, but Nick's curiosity overcome his displeasure towards the heat. Nick decided to park his buggy out of view of the van, then positioned himself on the wall opposite of the entrance of the building. The disrepaired walls allowed him to peek what was happening inside: The elephant put the Jumbo Pop directly under the sun and collected the melted pop into buckets. After that, the elephant carried the buckets out, and Nick could see the small mammal, whom he could swear was Judy, help out.

Nick's sleuthing took him to Tundratown next, into a secluded building at the edge. Nick struggled to find an opening through which he could see inside, and he eventually settled for a ventilation hole high up. He saw snow, probably shoveled in from the outside, having been scooped here and there and the melted Jumbo Pop poured into the depressions. Nick eventually realized; The shape and size of the depressions seemed to be similar to the pawpsicle he saw the last time. Nick now only needed one last confirmation.

And the confirmation happened at Berry Lane during lunch time, where Nick saw Judy pull out a pushcart containing pawpsicles from the white van before it drove off. Now he knew how Judy got all those pawpsicles as he watched Judy peddle the pawpsicles.

 _Quite ingenious, Bunny._

Nick then resumed his own parking duty, in the meantime wondering if Judy's business was all legal. After all, she didn't seem to use any factory-certified building for the manufacture; She might have violated a few regulations there. Nick planned to check on that again later.

Nick just didn't expect that his next chance to investigate Judy would come so soon.

He was at Sahara Square at about 3 when he saw the same white van, and he followed it to a sturdier but otherwise-abandoned building compared to the roofless one earlier. He managed to peek inside to see the same act, only that the heat came from the glass roof, and if Judy's fanning herself was any indication, it was practically burning in there, though the elephant seemed oblivious to the temperature.

Nick then followed them back to the same building at Tundratown, and this time he saw how they made those depressions in the snow; Instead of scooping out the snow to make paw impressions, Judy wore a pair of shoes with which she stepped on the snow to make the needed depressions, into which the elephant poured the melted Jumbo Pop.

Nick felt he should accost Judy about the pawpsicle; There was no way she could have gotten a license to sell that kind of food.

* * *

Judy was waiting for someone to buy her last few pawpsicles that afternoon. She remembered she didn't manage to sell as much as she hoped at Berry Lane earlier, so this time she stopped by near Little Rodentia hoping that the residents would buy more, though she heard rodents loved to share and thus her prospect of selling out didn't seem so high.

"Pawpsicle! Get your pawpsicle!"

As she had suspected, most of her buyers shared the pawpsicles among several, with five shrews sharing a one being the current record. Still, the high number of residents meant that in half an hour, which was her preferred time limit of business, she still managed to sell 90% of the pawpsicles.

Judy then called it a day and began packing up when she heard a horn. She turned around to see Nick, now wearing an orange vest and driving a buggy, approaching.

"Hey, Fuzzball," Judy greeted in the midst of chuckling, "Budget cut on the cruiser?"

"Something like that," Nick replied as he dusted off his waist pouch, "And I take it that business is slow at Sahara?"

"Eh, entrepreneurs like me gotta have wide customer base," Judy continued.

Nick only smiled. He had been pondering how best to ask Judy about the food license. A direct accusation could send the bunny on flight and make it hard for him to arrest her later.

"I guess that's true," Nick decided to have a casual chat, "though then I'm curious as to why you peddle them around Zootopia like this."

"Well," Judy appeared to be looking for the right answer as she continued packing, "you know, cutting cost, maximize profit that yadda-yadda kind of things."

"A talented businessbunny, aren't you?"

Judy was caught off-guard by the praise that she decided to laugh it out.

"Well, thank you, Wilde."

Nick wasn't certain that Judy was sincere in calling him properly this time.

"I just found you unusual, you see. As in, you're the first food peddler who don't sell from a fixed establishment. Like, you know, a shop at Downtown or something?"

"Are you kidding, Fuzzball? Renting a shop at Downtown will cost me all my limbs."

 _So she wasn't quite sincere._

"But won't it be nice if you have a, a candy shop or something then mammals flock to you instead- Oh wait right. Costs."

Judy looked half-perplexed and half-amused.

"I guess applying for a license for this would've been pretty pricey already, right? Then you have no money left to buy a shopfront or something."

"Oh, I already got the license covered."

Nick didn't expect that answer, and he had to shake his head a little to wipe off his surprise. Whether or not Judy noticed...

"Look here!"

Judy showed two sheets of paper, and in quick glance Nick could confirm that based on who issued them, those permits looked legitimate, which meant she really had the right to manufacture and peddle these pawpsicles. But he knew the manufacture methods couldn't have been legal; How could she have obtained the permits?

"Yeah, yeah, these probably wiped out quite a bit of your savings to start the business," Nick chortled, trying to hide his disbelief.

"I always try to be a responsible citizen."

Judy replied triumphantly. _Had she realized that Nick suspected her?_ Nick cleared his throat. He had wanted to catch Judy red-handed of running a food business without proper permit, but those licenses rebuffed him. It wouod be best to back off now.

"But really, I imagine that someday, you'll have enough money to start your own candy shop, then you tell everyone via ZNN, 'Hey, visit my shop for best-grade pawpsicle' or something. Don't you think that would be nice?"

"... You're making it sound like the cops will bust me for doing this."

Nick gulped. Well, he probably better bolt off soon.

"Looks like you don't buy my motivationals," Nick sighed, then looked at his watch, "Hey, looks like I gotta go. Can't be too late to report."

"Whatever you say, Fuzzball."

Nick merely shook his head as he returned to his buggy, at the same time turning off the recorder he had been carrying in his waist pouch. What a waste of time, he thought. Hopefully he wouldn't get reprimands for low quota, having spent most of his time chasing after Judy.

* * *

Nick was in the mood for blueberry pies after clocking out, having remembered that he hadn't visited Gideon Grey for a few days. He then went to Gideon's for dinner after telling his mom that he would be late for home.

Nick groaned when he reached Gideon's bakery as the owner just so happened to be away, having left a note saying that he was on an errand. The only entertaining thing about the note was the somewhat long apology at the end, where Gideon said sorry to customers, pie enthusiasts, partners and a few other parties whom Nick thought probably weren't worth mentioning. Not to mention the handwriting became messier and more cramped at the tail.

Nick had walked half a block when he saw the back of a portly fox carrying some plastic bags, the apron-like outfit hinting that it was Gideon Grey. With a renewed mirth in anticipation of getting Gideon's pies, Nick approached, but the voice of an irate bunny alarmed him.

"Don't 'sorry' me."

"Ah, um, so sorry, Judy," Gideon sounded like he was pleading, "I- I'm going off-"

Nick saw the bunny, Judy, apparently arguing with Gideon. She then noticed Nick behind Gideon and immediately left the scene coldly, and as Nick approached Gideon, he thought the chubby fox looked heartbroken. Gideon then noticed Nick.

"Oh, hi, er, Officer Nick."

"Hi too, Gideon," Nick hoped he could cheer up Gideon with a smile, obviously a far-fetched idea.

"Oh, wait, wait, were you looking for, a, me?"

"Well, I was from your bakery and found you were away."

"Aw, yeah, getting some groceries."

Gideon showed the bags he was carrying.

"Sorry if you're, a, looking for me pies."

"That's ok, Gid, take your time."

The two foxes then walked back to Gideon's shop. With Gideon's permission, Nick took off the note and tossed it to a nearby dustbin.

"I've seen that bunny a few times," Nick began as Gideon was preparing to reopen his bakery, "didn't know you know her too."

"Aye, went to the same school as Judy at the Burrows," Gideon replied as he turned on a few appliances, "and, a, I was the biggest kid in class too."

"I see," Nick nodded, "Sorry if I ask this, but why is she mad at you?"

"I, uh, I was a major jerk to her, ya see?"

 _Um, whoops._ Nick didn't expect that he inadvertently snooped on someone's past.

"So I heckled her a lot, saying bunnies are only for farming carrots. She's annoyed at me. I think she's annoyed at a lotta mammals too, everyone said she gottabe a carrot farmer," Gideon continued as he was mixing dough.

Nick pondered for a while before asking, "Looks like she was a rare few Burrows denizens who went here, huh?"

"Yep."

"But being mad just because you followed her here or vice versa sounds overacting to me," Nick scoffed.

"Actually she's mad at me for, a, something else."

Nick was hesitant if he should pry further, but before he contemplated, Gideon gave him the answer.

"She once said at the Carrots Days festival that, um, she wanted to be a police officer."

This alarmed Nick. Was that why Judy asked him about how to become a cop?

"So I think I told her she'd never be a bunny cop. Stupid idea, I told her. Think I said it ain't in her DNA to be a tough guy like a cop. Told her she's a tiny, dumb bunny, not a big, strong preds with killer instinct who'd do a better job at it. And then that happened."

Gideon's wistful sigh somehow was louder than the hissing from the kitchen.

"She told me no one's gonna tell her what er what not to be, I pushed her, she pushed me, I clawed her."

Nick gasped. _Okay, that was way too much information._

"I told her to cry for her mommy, and not sure if she did. I think ever since then she's been mad at me. And they told me later I have a, um, an issue with a lot of insecurities and self-doubt which lead to unchecked rage and aggression, or whatever that was."

Nick quietly snickered. He wasn't expecting that sudden eloquence from Gideon.

"So ever since that, I haven't seen her a lot, and only not long ago I saw her here at Zootopia. I thought I should apologize for hurting her, but she ain't buying it."

 _Ouch. That was a long grudge._ Nick wondered about the ensuing silence, and eventually shared his own story when Gideon was about done with baking the freshest batch of pies.

"She's become a food peddler here. Saw her sold this candy, pawpsicle."

"She does?" Gideon's surprise turned into sadness, "Oh, so she couldn't become a cop."

"She's still interested in becoming one though," Nick wondered if that could be construed as hopeful wish.

"Ah, ok," Gideon suddenly smiled. It seemed like Gideon was now keen to see Judy in uniform.

Nick the ordered a few blueberry pies to go.

"By the way, Gid, do you know if she has friends here?"

"I don't know, Officer Nick. I don't think so."

 _So those fennec fox, bison, sheep, elephant and rhino were unrelated to Gideon, that much was certain._

"Eh, I think I'll be heading home soon," Nick waved cheerfully at Gideon, "Thanks for the pies and the talk."

"Pleasure's mine, Officer Nick."

Nick then left Gideon, who was now attending to another customer. Nick then realized he seemed rather unfazed with the weather; Was it because he was enjoying his chat with Gideon that even in jacket, he didn't feel the heat? Or maybe it was right at sundown. Whatever.

* * *

Nick's dinner and trip home was interrupted by a vehicle parking right next to him and someone calling out to him.

"Hey, Fuzz, got a second?"

Although Nick hadn't seen the fennec fox for a while, he was sure that voice belonged to the little fox. Nick realized the vehicle was indeed the kitschy van.

"Just wanna talk about the bunny."

Nick saw the fennec fox at the driver's seat, clearly too small for the van. As Nick struggled not to chortle at the size discrepancy, the fennec fox shot a few questions.

"Saw you with Judy," the fennec sighed as he recalled, "She said anything?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Nick became apprehensive. Why is this fennec asking him about the bunny?

"Look, Fuzz, she's a country girl going to Zootopia for this so-called better future," the fennec weaved a story Nick wasn't sure he's interested in, "but she ended up broke and had to find someone to foot her bill."

Nick furrowed. _What's this fennec's problem?_

"Bottom line is, she fell in with some... terrible mammals, and I thought she might end up a stew once they're done with her."

"Wait, wait a second," Nick tried to cut off the fennec, but the little fox held out a paw and continued.

"So I thought I saw her being chill with you, so can I ask for your help to keep an eye for her?"

Nick was befuddled. This fennec clearly couldn't be Judy's family, if what Gideon Grey said was true, but the way he talked about her suggested that he was at least a friend of hers.

"You're talking as though you're her dad," came Nick's snide reply.

"A bit like that," the fennec affirmed almost offhandedly, "I helped her for a while, but she ain't interested in my help. She wasn't the first Burrower who came here blind, I tell ya what."

 _Is this fennec related to Gideon?_

"She knows squat about the city, like many others before her. I just don't like seeing random mammals going here for money or fame or happiness and ended up in a dumpster."

"It sounds like you were one such mammal."

"Can the jokes, Fuzz," the fennec became agitated, "I can't save her from those... terrible mammals, but as a cop I thought you probably could help."

"... Can't promise you, but if she happens to be related to anything the ZPD's dealing with right now, she'll get in my radar sooner or later," Nick also became annoyed at the fennec's insistence, "And what makes you think I won't suspect you instead?"

The fennec groaned. Nick wondered what the point of this talk was.

"Whatever. Name's Finnick," the fennec then readied to drive off, "and remember; she's surrounded by bad mammals."

Nick was still confused about everything the fennec said. Why did he just share some things about Judy to a stranger like that? Then it hit him; the way Finnick talked, it was almost as if he had been watching either Nick, Judy or both. Nick shuddered at the potential ramifications of this. He considered checking out as much as he could about all these when he had the time.


	8. Chapter 8: An Aside: Stan The Cat

Stan was lying on a bed. He was in a hospital, having been treated for blunt trauma for a few days, and the doctors had informed him that he could be fully discharged after one or two more days now that his injuries had almost fully healed.

Stan whisked back to the day he was sent to hospital. He had just bought a few sewing and fashion books and was on the way to the studio when he heard a bang on a fence surrounding the construction site he was walking past. He happened to catch glimpse on a moose walking from an opposite direction, but what really caught his attention was a part of the steel fence about to fall on the unknowing moose. Perhaps it was reflex, but the next thing he knew, he had shoved the moose out of the falling fence, only to have it crash on him. He counted his blessing when a small police officer called the ambulance and even lifted off whatever things befalling him; That was remarkable.

Stan was a bit annoyed about being in the hospital for so long. H was sure he could have gotten out the day after, but he was insistently told to wait a few more days to confirm there's no further danger, no internal bleeding, no nothing. He was worried about his friends, and especially his senorita; Will they be okay without him?

There was a knock on the door. Stan tried to sit and found he was still sore around his lower back. That was annoying.

"Come in."

Upon his permission, the visiting mammal entered the room. Despite dressing in modest t-shirt and jeans, she still looked as beautiful as he had always known her, truly an angel with horns.

Stan smiled. It was Gazelle, his senorita.

"Hola, Senorita," Stan smiled at Gazelle.

"Hi, Stan," Gazelle replied as she pulled a chair and sat nearby, "How are you feeling?"

"Really good." _Well, except for the fact that I'm annoyed at being in hospital for so long and that my lower back hurts._

"I heard from the doctor. A few more checks and you'll be discharged."

 _If they will it, that is._ Sure, the doctors just wanted to make sure Stan was fully healed prior to discharge, but he never liked excessive periods of inactivity.

"I certainly hope so."

"Aw, don't be so down, Tigre," Gazelle chuckled as she petted Stan on the shoulder, "We all miss you, you know."

Stan smiled. He missed his senorita and tiger friends too, which was why staying at hospital wore down on him. They were the reason why he had a positive outlook in life; Who would have thought that a tiger could be an entourage member of a gazelle celebrity? When he first became Gazelle's partner, such a thing was practically unheard of. In fact, he rarely heard of his other predator friends working in fields other than factory work, security jobs or anything related to automobiles, much less working as an entertainer.

"Did Deputy Mayor Lionheart visit you yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah, he did."

That was something Stan still found unbelievable. The one thing that the Deputy Mayor told him about his reason of visit was to apologize on behalf of ZPD because one officer inadvertedly caused the accident. Based on what he heard in social media, everyone was pointing finger at the small officer, a fox cop. That apology alone was already odd, but from what he had heard from Gazelle, Deputy Mayor would be covering his hospital bill. That was shockingly generous.

"Oh, right," Stan suddenly thought of something, "Do you think I can thank that fox cop? I keep forgetting about that."

"That Officer Wilde? Well, maybe if I can ask him to see you personally then yes, but we all have posted online that we thanked him for getting the ambulance for you."

"And did he reply?"

"His friend said he was busy when we sent thanks, but told us he sent his regards."

Stan exhaled a satisfaction. But his slight frown soon after prompted Gazelle to prod.

"Sad about something?"

"Well," Stan wasn't sure if he should say it, "I'm just... I mean, I'm not like that fox cop. A little pred, but with such dedication to his cause that he did feats unthinkable for mammals his size. And here I am, sewing clothes- Er, I mean, what was I saying?"

Gazelle knew what Stan meant. The tiger had always had interest in fashion, but no tailory had ever wanted to employ him, probably because he was a tiger; A tiger doing fashionwork was all but unthinkable. She sometimes wondered if she hired him out of pity, but having worked with Stan for a while now, she could feel how genuinely interested and talented he was, and thus he was now an important part of the costume design team in addition to being her backup dancer.

As for what he just said, she understood that he loved working with her and the other tigers so much. Being confined in a hospital bed for days doing practically nothing like this must be stressful.

"Hush, hush, Stan," Gazelle petted Stan again, "I can't wait to see you back at the studio again either. I guess we'll just have to be patient."

Her giggle was the golden glow of sunrise for Stan.

"Anyway, I'll be off soon. Got something to do."

Gazelle then kissed Stan on the nose.

"Adios, Tigre."

Stan sat there, still and smiling. Was it any wonder that she's called angel with horns?

"Hey, you guys are here," Gazelle could be heard after leaving the room.

"Uh, yeah, just visiting, eh heh," that loud voice must be Roland.

"Ayup. I mean, we ain't got things to do right now. We just thought we should do something, and that something is visiting him. Right?" that chatty one must be Fabrizio.

"You got nothing to do, Fab, I do," then that must be Clive.

"Then hurry and get in. You don't want the doctors to shoo you out for running out of time right?" Gazelle left one last tease, "Ciao, mis Tigres."

Sure enough, Stan's three tiger friends, Roland, Fabrizio and Clive entered the room soon after.

"Hey, buddy!" Stan greeted first as always. It was perhaps due to his penchant for short but loud talks that he always tried to get the first word on anything.

"Hey! How've you been?" Clive practically ran to Stan before wrapping himself over Stan. He's always the cuddlebug.

"Getting better, for sure," Stan replied. His pain had subsided after seeing Gazelle. Or maybe he should lie down less.

"Gotta say we miss you already, buddy," and Fabrizio was about to yap for a minute straight, "Practising was more fun when we four do it all together, and besides, aren't we always a team? Kinda weird with just three of us in the studio. Can't get used to dancing without you, so get well soon, ok?"

The other three paying a visit like this already made Stan felt like home in the studio already.

"I mean, you know Gazelle's fashion better than the three of us. The other day she had to buy some Preyda accessories, and Clive's choices were quickly vetoed by the costume team," Fabrizio looked at Clive, who then playfully jabbed the former, "He's never lucky when it comes to choosing."

"Like earlier," Roland chimed.

"Oh, shut up, Mr. Hey-I-guessed-right," Clive gave a mild elbow to Roland.

Stan furrowed in confusion.

"Did you guys race from the hospital entrance to here?"

"Er, no, actually," Fabrizio drew a deep breath, "So Gazelle told us she'd be visiting you tonight, and we told her we might join later."

Stan could see Roland snicker.

"Actually we arrived not long after her, and we waited outside when she was talking with you. So I got bored, and I made a bet with these two: Whether Senorita Gazelle will kiss his fabulous prince Stan."

 _What?_

"Stop the melodrama, Fab," Clive urged.

"Oh, right. So I guessed she'd kiss you on the lips-"

 _Whaaaat? Guys, seriously?_

"French-style-"

"No, you didn't say French-style," Clive cut off Fabrizio again.

"Oh shut up. Anyway, Clive guessed forehead, and Roland guessed nose."

Stan couldn't hide his snicker as he put a paw over his face. This is the first time he heard his three friends making such a silly bet.

"So Roland is now 20 bucks richer."

"Come on guys," Stan wasn't sure what to say, "That's ridiculous."

"Hey, we just wanna pass the time, right, guys?"

The four tigers laughed it out. Stan felt so happy he had friends like these. He really couldn't wait to get out and mingle back with them and his senorita.


	9. Chapter 9: The Hunt

That morning felt so similar to yesterday, with Nick walking out to do his parking duty for the day, with Ben offering a donut which Nick declined just this once. Before Nick walked out of the HQ, he saw an otter walking towards Ben, looking clearly distressed. Nick remembered about the missing mammal cases; Was this otter related?

"Good morning, Ma'am, how can I help you?" Ben greeted the otter with his usual cheer.

"Please, I haven't heard about my Emmitt for a week now. Can you help find him?" The female otter indeed sounded desperate. Nick could tell now; She was the wife of the bespectacled otter.

"We're so sorry, Ma'am, we're doing our best to find him. We're sure to call you once we got news on him"

The otter wasn't buying it.

"How about your chief? Can he help me?"

"Let me see if he can talk to you, Ma'am," Ben then quickly dialed Chief's number, "Excuse me, Chief, there's this Mrs. Emma Otterton asking if she can talk to you about her husband Emmitt Otterton."

A rather long pause ensued as Ben shifted his gaze between the intercom and the otter, Emma.

"Ok... Wilde's currently here, can he come to your office then? ... Ok, right away!"

Ben then turned towards Emma.

"Chief agrees to see you, Ma'am," then Ben asked Nick, "Wilde, could you guide her to Chief?"

"Sure," Nick nodded, although the entire situation made him nervous.

* * *

"We're sorry for your distress, Ma'am. ZPD has expended our best resources to find your missing husband."

Chief tried his best to console Emma, but both he and Nick could tell that the otter would not rest until her husband is found.

"But please, he had been missing for a week already," Emma began sobbing as she showed her family portrait, "My children have been asking when daddy's coming home."

Nick was imagining what Chief was thinking. Then it suddenly dawned on him; The missing otter was the only small mammal among the missing. Perhaps he could ask for Chief's permission to search this otter, given that he himself was also a small mammal. Still, he wondered if it was wise to do so.

"Um, Chief, permission to speak?"

Nick couldn't believe he said it.

"... What is it, Wilde?" Thankfully Chief didn't seem offended. Yet.

"May I perhaps... volunteer to search for this otter?"

"No."

That was quick.

"Oh," suddenly Emma grabbed Nick's arm, "Have you seen Emmitt? Or can you help?"

"Ah, um, no, Ma'am, uh, but the other officers-"

"Ma'am, I have sent my best officers on the search. We will find him, and we will let you know."

For some reason Nick thought Chief was getting agitated. He regretted speaking out of turn like that.

"Oh," Emma drooped, then walked out of the office. Nick then accompany her out. Right after Nick opened the door, a bear officer walked past.

"Bjornsdotter, could you help guide this otter home?" Chief could be heard suddenly ordering the bear officer.

"Aaye, Chief," Bjornsdotter replied, leaving Nick first confused, then terrified. _Was it something that he said?_

After Bjornsdotter and Emma were out of view, Chief gestured Nick to close the door and come over.

"What were you thinking when you said that?"

It was exactly what Nick feared; He had upset Chief again.

"I'm- am sorry to cut you off l-like that Chief."

"I can tell you sympathize with the otter, but we also have the other ten mammals to be found. Serving the populace is our main duty; We can't just give the impression that we abandon the other ten mammals just because an otter asks us to find her missing husband."

Nick only nodded, not counting how long he had been waiting for Chief to continue.

"For now, focus on your main assignment."

Nick nodded. After a few steps he recalled Chief hadn't said that word. He chided himself for fussing over such a trivial thing and was about to reach for the knob.

"You know what, Wilde..."

Nick paused and turned back at Chief.

"If you think you can be of help to find the missing mammals, you have my permission to check their records. If during your parking duty you find anything that may pertain to these missing mammals, report back. Dismissed."

Nick's heart soared. So Chief wasn't completely against him on the cases.

* * *

Nick was standing by Ben's desk. After he told Ben about what Chief said, the buffalo had offered help to get some of the missing mammal cases, so Nick had asked Ben for copies of the missing mammals last seen at Sahara, including the otter.

"Here they are, Nick!"

Ben then blitzed onto his desk with some folders in one paw and Stripes soda in another. Nick was skimming the folders when he realized that one folder was extremely thin.

"That small one's the case of Mr. Emmitt Otterton," Ben sounded slightly deflated even as he still kept his bubbliness, "I know, I know, it's super tiny. Like the otter, but I digress. There was no lead and no witness. It'll probably take a miracle to find him. Poor otter."

Nick sighed. He then read through all the folders, intending to memorize as much as he could. Stashing such important documents in his little buggy, even for reference, probably would count as security breach. It was when he scrutinized the photo of the otter's last known sighting that he spotted something.

"Hang on, Bogo, could I borrow some magnifying glass or something?"

"Ok, Wilde, just a minute," Ben then proceeded to rummage his drawers, but then he shook his head soon after.

"Ok- wait," Nick saw Ben's empty Stripes bottle, "Can I borrow that instead?"

Ben nodded only after Nick swiped the empty bottle. Nick was glad that he could use the bottle as a makeshift magnifier. Zooming into the otter's photo, he saw something in the otter's paw: A pawpsicle. Nick smiled. _That's one lead.  
_

* * *

Nick was glad that he could find that white van at the same place at Tundratown. He then waited in hiding until the van left to prepare for Judy to peddle the pawpsicle somewhere. The van left the building after Judy and her elephant accomplice loaded up the pawpsicles.

The van stopped at a red light, with Nick trailing at what he believed was a safe distance. Given that now Judy knew he drove a buggy, he had to be more careful.

Nick, however, didn't expect to see Judy leap off from the driver's seat of the van, with the elephant probably yelling at her. Nick quickly scanned his left, the direction of Judy's flight, and found a road just behind him. He then turned around onto that road, keeping his sight to the right assuming that Judy would be somewhere across the block. He chanced upon an alley, and as he scrutinized it, he could saw a mammal at the other end of an alley waving at someone, and what he thought were feet behind a dumpster not very far from that mammal. Nick decided to check it out.

The mammal at the other end of the alley was already away when Nick reached the dumpster and saw that those really were feet, belonging to an unconscious jackal laid on the wall. Preliminary checks showed that the jackal suffered multiple blunt trauma, mostly on his back, but not much else. Nick was reminded of the unconscious hyena at Sahara; The overall circumstances seemed to indicate that Judy was involved in both cases.

When Nick emerged from the alley, he didn't see Judy, only that mammal, a capybara carrying a slingbag. Nick decided to ask the mammal.

"Um, excuse me."

The capybara turned around, gasped, and then calmed down.

"Oh, I am so sorry. At a glance you looked like a jackal," the capybara gave a nervous laugh, but otherwise she's fine.

"A jackal? You mean like the one in the alley there?"

"Oh, yes, yes- You're a police officer, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am, the name's Nicholas Wilde."

"Oh, dear, you're just a little late," the capybara giggled, and Nick wondered why.

"See, that jackal mugged me. But then somebody just beat the crap out of him. I then saw that somebody was a bunny."

Nick wondered if it really was Judy.

"She was amazing, I tell you, knocking out that mugger so quickly like that."

"If I may ask, Ma'am, could you describe this bunny?"

"Oh, dear, silly me, I didn't take notice."

"I see. Thank you for your-"

"Oh wait, I know!" the capybara seemed to recall something, "She had purple eyes."

 _Judy._

"Thank you for your information, Ma'am."

Nick weighed his option. He wanted to find Judy for several reasons now, but currently he had an unconscious jackal nearby. He gave a quick 911 call before running back to his buggy to give chase to Judy.

A few hours passed and Nick had gotten frustrated over missing out the white van due to the jackal case. With lunch break hour running out with no idea where Judy might be peddling this time, Nick considered waiting for Judy's second pawpsicle-peddling session.

Nick ended up spending over an hour going in circles repeatedly checking on Jerry Jumbeaux's not seeing that van. A random check on nearby cars revealed that it didn't seem that they switched cars in between sessions, so he wondered if they had changed plans, thus he first considered that they had changed supplier.

Nick then snooped around at the decrepit building at Sahara where he last saw Judy and her accomplice melt jumbo pop. There was no one there. Nick decided to break in, and found the building was not only not locked, but it hadn't been used for some time, judging from the lack of splatters on the floor. Nick wondered if they had also changed their bases of operation, but after scouring a few potentially suspicious buildings at Sahara, he found no substantial lead. Or had they moved to more remote places? Nick considered that unlikely, as such remote corners would be too inhospitable, even if they would be usable for clandestine operations.

With no other lead to find at Sahara, Nick hasted to Tundratown.

This time, the pawpsicle-freezing building had been left empty. And going around Tundratown investigating any potentially suspicious building gave him nothing. Nick groaned. Had he been discovered tailing this pawpsicle scheme? Well, that's a problem; No pawpsicle, no Judy, no asking about the missing Mr. Otterton. Nick decided to head back for now with the sun already below the horizon; he hadn't realized that he had stayed out at Tundratown for too long.


	10. Chapter 10: Cold Night

While driving back towards HQ, Nick pondered about Judy and the Otterton case. He had several questions for Judy now, unsure which he should ask first. Of course, the order of the questions would be pointless if he couldn't even find her.

At times Nick gazed around Tundratown. He was still somewhere at some remote corners of Tundratown tonight. Nick chided himself; He already lacked full intel about Judy's pawpsicle scheme, so why did he think that sleuthing all over Tundratown would help? He had wasted several hours snooping around Tundratown without clue and without result.

Suddenly Nick saw something, or someone, emerge from the road just to his right, and he instinctively hit the brakes. Too late.

After Nick regained his bearing, he looked around to see what he might have hit. He saw a large mammal lying on the road, a black jaguar wearing singlet and dark trousers, all tattered. Nick shivered as he came over to check on the jaguar; If Chief heard he harmed another civilian, he'd be doomed.

"Uh, sir? Mister? Are you okay?"

Nick's mind was choked with questions. What happened to this jaguar? Why was he wearing something so light in Tundratown? He was thin, haggard, frostbitten and bruised, although Nick wasn't sure how much of his injuries were caused by the crash. Nick then decided to lug the jaguar to his buggy, hoping to get the feline to hospital as fast as he could.

Nick was quite surprised that despite his rough condition, the jaguar was still conscious and capable of making an effort to steady himself while Nick tried to prep him up. Nick then looked at the jaguar's face, and found that the green-eyed jaguar had claw wounds over his right eye. Nick then carefully seated the jaguar into his buggy, an undersized one for the feline. He draped his orange vest over the jaguar, though he knew that tiny piece of cloth would be all but useless. Nick was upset that he wasn't carrying his jacket; Small as it was, it would have provided better cover.

"Help..."

Nick turned towards the jaguar.

"Don't worry, sir," Nick tried to console the jaguar and prepared to leave towards the hospital, "I'm taking you to hospital now."

"Uh?" The jaguar was breathing heavily, but it would appear he was slowly getting an idea of his situation.

"Yes," Nick wasn't sure what he should say other than trying to assure the jaguar that he would be fine once the hospital got him.

"Snow... Hills... please."

Nick furrowed. That was the opposite direction of the hospital from where he was heading now. _Did the jaguar live at Snowy Hills area?_ Still, staying at home wasn't going to help this battered jaguar.

"I'm afraid I will have to take you to hospital, sir, only then you can go home."

"Please..."

The jaguar started to sound weak. Not taking him to hospital could be fatal. Nick then merely looked at the jaguar and shook his head.

" _Pl- please_... fox..."

 _Dammit. Why's this jaguar so insistent on going somewhere away from hospital?_

Nick's thought was interrupted when he realized there's a clothes store nearby. Remembering about what the jaguar was wearing, Nick decided to stop by the store and promptly bought a winter jacket and a blanket and draped them over the jaguar. As Nick was about to drive off, he thought he saw the jaguar snarl. Maybe.

Nick saw the jaguar was still breathing, but he hoped that the hospital could save him. Nick still was wondering about the jaguar's situation, as the feline didn't seem to respond to Nick patting him now and then to check on him.

Nick then recalled he hadn't contacted ZPD for some time now. He wondered how Chief would feel after realizing that he's still out at work at night. Maybe Chief would reprimand him for chasing quota until well after sundown. Nick snickered as he reached towards his intercom while stopping at a red light, thinking to tell Ben, assuming that Ben was still working at this hour.

And then two sedans came from behind and flanked him.

Nick quickly considered his situation. Why would these two cars suddenly flank him? As the window of the sedan on his right wound down, Nick thought he saw the driver pull out a tranquilizer.

Nick immediately hit the gas and fled to the right. Whoever these guys were, he had a bad feeling about them, and it would be better to take flight. The sedans quickly caught up to him thanks to the sparse traffic. He cursed his luck; Escaping these sedans would have been easier had he been in a cruiser.

"Wait..."

 _What's this jaguar talking about, wait?_ Nick then realized: This jaguar was roughed up, and these pursuing mammals might be gunning for him.

Nick hadn't managed to find opportunity to call HQ given the situation. Those sedans were still hot on his trail. Nick assessed the surroundings to find a lack of buildings, and aside from a few sheds the landscape was dominated by uneven terrains.

Nick wheeled left. On normal roads, this would have allowed him to make a sharp turn, but the buggy spun and stopped facing the opposite direction of what Nick first wanted. _Fine._ He then went to and jumped off a hopefully-tall-enough mound, and then tried his best to turn right with all the snow in the way. Nick groaned upon noticing that the sedans behind him; that maneuver didn't distract them much.

Nick quickly headed back to the road and cut straight through it. This side away from the road had sparse trees, but Nick hoped that would be enough to slow the sedans down. Weaving around these trees was quite a task with this buggy and the slippery terrain, in addition to having to keep the jaguar in the buggy and preventing him from falling off. Regardless, Nick took a slight satisfaction when he noticed at one point one of the sedans struck a tree.

Upon seeing the other sedan zooming straight at him, Nick slammed his wheel to the left, hoping that he could turn to avoid it. He then realized that had underestimated the sedan's speed, and it quickly smacked the rear of his buggy. After the unpleasant spin, Nick promptly hit the gas and went straight ahead. He came across a mound sooner than he was prepared for, and the tilted terrain he landed onto caused the buggy to tumble.

Upon getting up, Nick quickly looked around and surmised that his buggy had hit a tree and flung him and the jaguar out. He ran up to the jaguar and hoisted up the feline, trying to see get sight of the sedans. He saw a large figure approaching. For some reason Nick reached onto his waist, only to remember he wasn't carrying any weapon today. Right. Usually he didn't carry a tranquilizer gun when doing parking duty. Nick thought he could deal with this figure, a polar bear, but he realized that with an injured civilian with him, it might get difficult. And there's still one more of this bear at least.

Nick just turned around to escape the bear when he saw a large paw about to grasp him. He dodged in time, ran up to the arm and gave the other polar bear a wallop on the face. That didn't seem to hurt much. He could see the polar bear shift his gaze rightward to the jaguar. Upon seeing this, Nick boxed the bear hard on the waist hoping that could distract him enough, which seemingly worked as the bear tried to swat him as Nick quickly make a run for the jaguar.

Just as he got to the jaguar, Nick realized too late that a polar bear had come too near. Then a strong grip on his neck, a sudden ascent and four pairs of angry eyes.

* * *

Nick was inside a car with a polar bear beside him making a phone call. His paws and feet were tied, and at times the polar bear silenced him with either a glare or a swift backpaw to the stomach.

Nick noticed that the car had stopped at what appeared to be a wharf, or somewhere close. The polar bear dragged him into a building and forcefully seated him on probably a crate next to a table.

"Interesting to see them sending some little furball in a meter buggy to snoop around."

Nick wasn't very sure what that was supposed to mean.

"How is he?"

"He's been patched up a bit. I'll get the doctor to check on him tomorrow."

"What's with the jacket, though?"

Nick slowly looked around. As if in response, a very large polar bear sat opposite of him, and three other bears joined in standing around the two. The large bear was wearing some huge necklace.

"Speak."

Nick wasn't sure what to answer this large polar bear.

" _Speak._ "

Considering the tone, Nick figured a lack of answer to that repeated word would hurt.

"Why are you or your guys attacking a... defenseless civilian?"

The large bear guffawed disconcertingly.

"What do you mean, Furball? You, a cop, _a defenseless civilian_?"

The bear then leaned forward.

"Or are you saying that you're some runt wearing a borrowed uniform, who stole a police buggy to take it for a spin?"

"I wasn't referring to myself," Nick glared back at the bear, although he felt he might regret it, "What are you gonna do to that jaguar?"

The bear leaned backwards and returned to a frown he wore when Nick first saw him.

"Do you know who he is, cop? He is my chauffeur."

For a second Nick called bull on that statement, but the way he spoke it, it seemed that the bear was telling the truth.

"I got a report of you going around Tundratown, and in the end you arrested my chauffeur. For what?"

"Arrest him?" Nick grew indignant, "What are you talking about?"

"Apparently any beaten-up mammal around this area are criminals to you, huh, cop?" the bear retorted with his own displeasure.

"Now, hang _on!_ "

Nick reflexively stood up snarling before two bears behind him forced him back down. Before he spoke another word, he caught glimpse of some mammals approaching behind the big bear. One of them was a polar bear, the other was the black jaguar, still looking quite trashed but otherwise better than when Nick saw him the first time.

The bear standing behind the large bear signaled the large bear about the two arriving mammals. The arriving bear then whispered something to the large bear, while the jaguar slowly took a position behind them. The jaguar was still wearing the jacket Nick bought, but otherwise he seemed to have changed clothes. To Nick's surprise, the jaguar waved at him with a smile, and Nick could only reply with a nod.

"Uh, um, thanks... for the jacket, er, at least."

Nick didn't know what to make of the jaguar's sheepish gratitude. "You're welcome" was all Nick could muster. He then saw the large bear sigh and rub his forehead before he signaled to two of his bear lackeys.

"Drop him off at the Glaciers, and don't rough him up any further unless he asked for it."

Nick wondered what that meant as the large bear turned to him.

"I can't believe I'm saying this to a cop, but it seems that I've got a few things wrong."

Nick gawked. Well, yes, there was a misunderstanding, but the way the bear suddenly became much more cordial, if still gruff, was unexpected.

"So it seems that you only chanced upon my chauffeur, and you wanted to take him to the hospital, and you even bought a jacket and a blanket for him. For that, I will release you."

Nick could swear that the bear smiled at him, but he was nonplussed at the bear's offer.

"Now, wait a minute. You chased me down and tied me up like this just because-"

"Wait, please, fox cop," the jaguar interrupted as he winced, then asked the polar bear, "Uh, boss, mind if I accompany him?"

After a brief deliberation, the bear gave a nod. The jaguar was visibly relieved, and Nick was nowhere near actually understanding what was going to happen.

* * *

Nick and the jaguar were on the back seat of a sedan with the two polar bear lackeys in the front. Nick was feeling his paws and feet; He was only untied by the jaguar after they all got into the car, or in Nick's case, after he was thrown in.

"So, uh... thanks again, fox cop," the jaguar opened conversation.

"Glad to see you've gotten better."

Nick frankly wasn't sure if that was an accurate description of the jaguar's current condition. It did appear that he had been patched up, but he certainly looked very shaken. Whatever happened to him before Nick stumbled upon him?

"By the way, uh, I'm sorry about my boss," the jaguar continued, "You may think that he jumped into conclusions, but he cares about his... employees."

Nick considered what the jaguar said. Whoever that polar bear was, he seemed to be prejudiced against cops. After all, ordering his lackeys to hunt down and tie up a cop who just happened to meet his battered chauffeur on the road? That's excessive.

"And my boss just doesn't like saying 'sorry's or 'thank you's, not even to us, but I can assure you he appreciates your helping me, and that he's truly sorry for treating you like that."

Nick wondered about this jaguar. For someone who just got patched up from such roughed up condition, he seemed to recover really fast. He would be fit for a bodyguard or such, but too sturdy for a mere chauffeur.

"Though, uh, fox cop," a bashful snicker came from the jaguar, "I understand the situation, but in retrospect I was, uh, kinda hoping you were more gentle in driving."

 _You try driving off-road in snow with a buggy while being chased,_ Nick thought as he gave the jaguar a cheeky grin.

After glancing at the jaguar at intervals in silence, Nick decided to inquire about the feline's predicament.

"So, what happened to you?"

The jaguar froze, then looked at the bears on the front seat. Upon a nod from one of the bears, the jaguar answered.

"My boss has some... issues, with someone at Rainforest."

"You mean you got attacked by someone who has beefs with your boss?" Nick prodded.

"Yeah, pretty much," the jaguar confirmed.

Nick nodded, though feeling unconvinced. The jaguar's right eye caught his attention again; The claw wounds weren't deep, and the eye itself was fine.

"Just how bad did they attack you? Including trying to claw out your eye like that?"

The jaguar suddenly went pale, his breathing suddenly became panicked, and he immediately clutched his right eye.

"Whoa, whoa," Nick patted the jaguar, "Ok, sorry for asking. But seriously, that looked bad."

"This... wasn't by... them."

 _So there was another party who attacked the jaguar?_

"It was... an otter."

It took Nick some time to process what he just heard, and the jaguar appeared to understand Nick's sheer disbelief.

"I couldn't believe it myself either. He was all fine, if nervous, when I picked him up at Sahara Square..."

 _Otter at Sahara Square?_

"... and I don't know what happened at Rainforest, but... he... suddenly just went down on all four. Like an animal... a savage!"

 _Uh, what?_

"The only thing he said before leaping at me was 'night howlers'. Over and over!"

Nick then decided to backpedal the conversation a bit.

"About this otter you picked up from Sahara Square, does he wear glasses?"

The jaguar looked surprised.

"You know Otterton?"

Nick couldn't believe what he heard. This jaguar knew Otterton, and might have seen him before he disappeared. Still, considering his situation, Nick wondered if prodding too much would be wise, especially when he noticed one of the bears seemed to be glaring at him.

"Well, not much, heh. I just heard that there was a bespectacled otter who was last seen at Sahara Square about last week."

For a second there Nick thought the jaguar recoiled in fear.

"Pl- please, fox cop, d- don't get the wrong idea."

 _This doesn't bode well,_ Nick thought. He merely looked on as calmly as possible, especially taking into account that he was badly outnumbered here.

"My boss just told me pick up the otter because he wanted to talk to boss. But-but-"

The jaguar saw Nick staring at him inquisitively.

"I don't know why he suddenly just lashed out on me like that... I just... I don't know what happened to him, please!"

"Ok," Nick felt that answer would have been best for now as he patted the jaguar. Looking at the jaguar, he would like to believe that it worked.

"Thank you," the jaguar indeed calmed down.

"Not to sound snide here, but I kinda pity you for getting two misfortunes in the span of a week," Nick wondered if humor would do anything good here.

"They, uh, all happened on the same day actually."

 _Ouch. Poor cat._ And then it hit Nick. _Same day?_

"We're here," one of the bears spoke.

The next thing Nick realized was that one of the bears picked him up and placed him by an old building, and what Nick felt was something the bear forcefully stuffed into his pocket. The bear hurried back to the car as the jaguar wound down the window to give Nick a farewell.

"What do I call you?" Nick somehow just shot the question to the jaguar, who only wistfully shook his head as they all left quickly. _Why are they so evasive?_ Nick then recalled the pocket. He reached into it to find that the bear had given him an envelope with over a hundred dollars in it and a note saying 'For the jacket and blanket'. Nick wondered who had the idea for this.

Nick looked around after the car had left his view, and the freezing night suddenly became known to him. Nick snickered; He was so absorbed in the entire situation with the bears and jaguar that he only remembered it was the dead of the night in Tundratown. Still, not too far from the old building was a neighborhood. Perfect to find out where he was. Time to head back.


	11. Chapter 11: Questions

Frank was still sorting the information Wilde gave very early that morning about the Otteron case.

Wilde said he knew someone who might have seen Emmitt Otterton before he disappeared, but during his hunt for this potential witness, he ended up meeting someone else who also knew about Otterton. Unfortunately, based on what Wilde described, that second witness was part of the Koslovs, and as Frank had already expected the fox wouldn't be able to gather much intel from them. That the jaguar witness was willing to divulge any information at all was a stroke of fortune.

But that wasn't all. Taking into account that the jaguar said about being attacked by an enemy of the Koslovs possibly at Rainforest, Frank concluded that the Bismarcks were involved. He sighed upon imagining the possibility of a gang war erupting; It's unlikely that the Koslovs would just let this go.

Frank was also reminded of the SWAT duty he handed to Delgato's team some time back. Could that report of road rage be related to all these? It might be better to look further into this, he thought.

But aside from that, Frank was also concerned about the other missing mammal cases. How could they have eluded ZPD so completely? Were theses cases all connected to either the Koslovs or the Bismarcks, like Otterton? Perhaps a thorough investigation on the two was due.

Frank then heard a knock.

"Come in."

Thomas entered the office, and the two traded salute.

"What's the issue, Tom?" Frank immediately asked Thomas upon noticing that the hippo didn't sit down. This usually meant a short report or a quick update.

"Just got a word from _him_."

Frank immediately shot a gaze at Thomas.

"The Bismarcks are scrambling to deal with an escaped prisoner," Thomas continued.

"A Koslov."

"Yes."

So it was like what Frank had surmised. Now he was considering to shift his focus from the missing mammals to the potential scuffle between the Koslovs and the Bismarcks.

"Tom, if I'm dealing with this personally, I want you to take over my office until I'm done."

"Heh, haven't heard you so eager to go into a warzone for a long time."

"What, you're protesting about being left out?"

"Hey, you're the boss. Just take care, ok?"

Frank smiled as he prepared himself to go to the bullpen. He knew he could count on Thomas to take over his duty on short notice.

* * *

Nick wasn't sure if he should count his blessing or grumble about yet another day of doing parking duty.

After he reported to Chief about the jaguar case, he thought that perhaps Chief would start assigning him real jobs like undercover or criminal hunt or whatever. Instead, Chief briefed him about the Koslovs and told him he shouldn't get too involved yet, then told him to stick to Savannah and Sahara for the time being. And Chief said all those after announcing at the bullpen that all officers should prepare for SWAT duty. Nick wondered if he could join in or if he were exempt.

Having mulled over that however, Nick also had realized that he had seen firsthand how merciless the Koslovs could be. Had the jaguar not vouched for him, he might have been in a pile of snow in the middle of nowhere. Maybe Chief didn't want to lose an officer so readily. Or maybe Chief had found him too reliable for menial tasks.

Nick sighed at the prospect of losing his biggest lead on the Otterton case. That jaguar would have given him better information about the otter based on what he said, but between the feline's status as a Koslov and his apprehension on Nick's inquiry, it seemed like asking the jaguar now would be futile.

That meant Nick could only hunt for Judy once again. Given that she was nowhere to be found the entire afternoon yesterday, Nick wondered if he could still find her at limited range.

And he was glad the answer was yes.

* * *

Judy was walking alone by a park. Normally at this hour, she would have been out in the streets with her elephant friend for her pawpsicle scheme, but for some reason today her friend said that she wouldn't have time to help her. She was anxious; that pawpsicle scheme had been her lifeline, so what was she to do when she couldn't get any money? Normally her friend would pick her up with the van to start the business, but without it, transporting the Jumbo Pop all over Zootopia was a pain.

Judy's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a car horn. She turned around to see a familiar smiling face driving a buggy. The buggy looked new, though, if she remembered correctly.

"Oh, it's you."

Nick quickly dropped his smile upon hearing her words; Something was bothering her, which should have been obvious given her drooping ears. Of course, given how little sleep he had last night, smiling in the first place was already a chore, and Nick was glad he could do without it.

"Seems like you're expecting something bad, huh?"

Judy looked tense.

"You're... looking for me?"

"For an entire day."

Nick was already geared to leap out of the buggy in case Judy bolted off, and she indeed appeared rather fidgety as though unsure what to do. But she just stood there bewildered.

"Why? Oh, so you wanted to arrest me for something?"

"That depends on your answers."

Nick took a deep breath as he waited for any response from Judy. After the silence, Nick started asking.

"I found out that you sold a pawpsicle to this Mr. Otterton," Nick then showed a photo of Emmitt Otterton, "Do you know him?"

Judy took her time.

"Well, I did sell a pawpsicle to an otter, I suppose."

"Ok, so where did you see him when you sold him the pawpsicle?"

"I don't quite recall... the Sahara, I believe."

"I see. Do you recall anything else about him?"

Judy shook her head, but Nick felt that she had become agitated.

"So you don't know whether he has any friend or not?"

"Aren't you asking too many questions here?" Judy started thumping her feet. She was annoyed.

"I just want to investigate about the otter. Too much to ask?"

Judy groaned. Nick could hear a loud **YES** from her posture.

"Just so you know, Judy, the missing otter is not the only thing I want to ask you about-"

"What is it?"

"It's about that hyena at Sahara and jackal at Tundratown."

"Look, I don't know anything about them."

"The capybara with a backpack at Tundratown said it was you."

"You mean slingbag."

"Oh, yes, he's carrying a slingbag."

"Yes, she was."

"So you know."

Judy gulped. Of course she knew about the jackal. She's just upset that the capybara gave her away.

"Look, what do you want?"

"Based on what I got from that capybara, you took down a jackal mugger," Nick continued, "Now, I could applaud you for helping fellow civilians in distress, but couldn't you just immobilize the mugger and then call the cops?"

"And if you guys never show up?"

"I take it you got into trouble once and nobody helped you?"

Nick reminisced about what Gideon told him as Judy drew a deep breath.

"I don't know what you cops are doing right now, but really, sometimes I wonder if you guys are all that dependable."

"Well, at least you have a critique."

"Do I look like I was joking?" Judy frowned before continuing, "I swear, I should have been a cop."

Nick was reminded on Gideon's words. Judy had wanted to be a police officer, but for some reason she was never given the chance. And everyone had been ridiculing her, and the fact that she was now stuck selling pawpsicles wouldn't help matters.

"I take it now you're working for the academy fees?"

Nick wondered if that was a wrong thing to ask when he saw Judy inhaled deeply.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Nick could understand such a situation. It wasn't easy for his mom to get enough money to send him to the police academy either.

"Okay, I guess I'm trailing off here," Nick concluded, "Just so you know, depending on what I'll get about Otterton or the jackal, I may look for you again."

Judy rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" she angrily asked, "If that otter and jackal are oh so important to you, stick to them. Why did you suddenly ask about me?"

"Call it whatever, Judy, but I think you have what it takes to be a cop."

Judy was flabbergasted. _What?_

"I wish you luck on that."

And with that, Nick left, leaving Judy puzzling. What's that fox's deal? Getting a witness statement, then accusing her for assault and battery, and suddenly throwing support for her dream to be a police officer. Was he just trying to sympathize? Judy shook her head. For now, income was her main focus; That fox could be dealt with later.

* * *

Nick spent some time mulling over whether he had been too harsh to Judy earlier, or perhaps too soft. Even if she wasn't at all responsible for Otterton's disappearance, there's still the fact that she committed street justice. However, he had called the hospital where the jackal was interred, and he was told the jackal was only bruised despite being knocked out. All those worry about the jackal being in grave danger was an overreaction. Just like with the hyena the last time.

Still, one of these days, Judy might end up getting too hard on a petty criminal, and she would have to answer for slaughter. Nick thought over whether he should keep an eye on her; That way, he would protect a criminal from undeserved punishment, and Judy from staining her paws. Double win.

Nick suddenly wondered why he dreamed of that.

Nick passed by Flora & Fauna florist on his way back to office, and he suddenly thought of buying something for his home, like a little shrub to lighten the kitchen. Once inside, Nick went straight to the pig shopkeeper who remembered him from the burglary case. It took Nick about fifteen minutes choosing from a plethora of small potted shrubs the pig presented to him. While waiting to make his payment, Nick looked at a few open shelves behind the counter, and gagged when he saw several of them being labeled Class C. With what he remembered from burglary, he noticed a few plant bulbs that he was sure were the _Midnicampum holicithias_ that were stolen that time.

"That will be five dollars for your shrub, sir," the pig interrupted Nick's thought.

"Ah, okay," Nick made his payment, "and by the way, may I perhaps ask something?"

"Oh, what is it?"

"About the Midnicap- Midni-holicithus-whatwasitagain?"

The pig realized Nick was pointing at the plant bulbs.

"Oh, you mean _Midnicampum holicithias_?"

"Ah, yes, that. Thank you."

"What do you want to know, sir? Oh, and does this have something to do with that weasel?"

"Sort of," Nick smiled, "I'm just curious what they're good for. I mean, from what I know, they're used for pesticides."

"Oh, yes, potent pesticides, sir, to the point that it's controlled and you need a permit to buy or sell them."

"Why exactly? I mean, it's not that I need to have a permit to buy a mosquito repellent."

"Beats me. They only said that letting it grow in the wilderness might cause ecological disaster. Not sure what."

 _Ecological disaster by making insects extinct. Makes sense, only if one were to stretch that far._

"And, ahem," the pig semi-whispered, "they're _pricey_."

Which brought up the possibility that the weasel stole it to resell in black market or something. After all, not everyone had a permit for that plant. Still, everything about the plant and the theft felt overblown. Was that the real reason why Chief was upset about Nick's handling of the issue?

"Ok, thanks for the information and the shrub," Nick then left the shop.

"Have a pleasant day, sir."

Nick only hoped the rest of the day would be peaceful. He just wanted to file his reports, go home, gave that shrub to his mom then go to sleep. He was sure he had done plenty today.


	12. Chapter 12: Violence

Officer Johnson was standing by at the forest floor under a large tree somewhere at Moss spot had been assigned as a rendesvouz point for himself, Wolford and Snarlov, but he was so far the only one to arrive at the scheduled time. Or perhaps his watch was too fast?

At times he scratched and combed his mane. The humid weather was not kind to his hair, though what irked him more was that sometimes the other officers would joke that he should trim it. What the hell were they thinking, lion without mane? It would be as gross as a sheep without wool- Why was he thinking about that again? Johnson sighed. This humid weather had made him unusually irritable. After all, he had it easy compared to Snarlov; Poor polar bear probably found this locale less than tolerable.

His thought was interrupted by some figures coming at him. He smiled; Judging from the shape and size, those were Wolford and Snarlov all right. Johnson suddenly thought how cool it could be being a wolf; Never once had he seen Wolford looking the least bit inconvenienced by the dreary climate.

"Might wanna move to Vine, Tujunga," Wolford went straight to the point, "There's a few mammal activities there, and I think they're trouble."

Nice, Johnson thought. Finally an actual, helpful hint to find the missing mammals. He and Snarlov just nodded at Wolford. Johnson thought he saw Snarlov looking uncomfortable and was reminded of Andersen, whom he had been grouped with more often. Johnson remembered Andersen once said he found the humid climate of the Rainforest, as well as the dry, sweltering desert of the Sahara, to be very disagreeable, and Snarlov's postures indicated the same kind of displeasure no matter how much he tried to hide it. But the three of them agreed the Bismarcks were a bigger problem tonight.

* * *

Fangmeyer was driving a cruiser with Delgato. She was thankful that the weather at Tundratown tonight was generally mild, allowing them to drive around. Her small gratitude was nevertheless too little to stave off her frustration at the lack of anything to help solve the missing mammal case, compounded with the possibility that the Koslovs were on the move. And neither had heard from Grizzoli, who had decided to investigate on foot, already for at least half an hour. At times she was worried leaving Grizzoli on his own was a bad move, and when Delgato noticed that, he would reassure her that Grizzoli was as capable alone as he was in a pack.

An hour passed uneventfully, then there was a beep on the transceiver. Delgato picked it up.

"This is Grizzoli," the wolf spoke from the other end.

"10-4, status update?"

"Four-sedan convoy spotted heading west. Unable to confirm passengers. We may need to alert Wolford's or whoever else at Rainforest."

"Where are you right now?"

"Goatshorn."

 _So whoever that convoy was and whatever their purpose might be, they were likely at Rainforest already by now._

"Roger that. We're at, uh, Crevasse-"

"Yeah, Grizzoli, we're turning around," Fangmeyer interjected, "See if we can meet at the border near your place."

"Got it," was Grizzoli's outro.

Fangmeyer and Delgato merely looked at each other before she sped off to the appointed rendesvouz point. Sure, the missing mammals were high priority, but the potential bloodshed between the Koslovs and the Bismarcks could not be ignored. And what Grizzoli reported were probably the Koslovs, armed and ready to bust their rival.

* * *

A mustang knocked on the door of a luxurious, but dark mansion at the Rainforest. A rhino peeked from the door to greet the mustang.

"Is boss in?" the mustang asked.

"Yes," the rhino replied, then gestured the mustang to come in.

The mustang entered to find a mildly lit entrance hall, barely furnished, with stairs going either directions at the edges of the room. The rhino then guided the mustang to a lower floor.

Soon after, there were three mammals seated around a table, and two rhinos standing some distance away. The bison merely waved his hoof towards the mustang sitting opposite of him.

"I have prepared moving the rest at the Cloud house to Ivy house tonight," the mustang reported, "At latest we will be temporarily abandoning Cloud Alley by tomorrow."

The bison nodded. The boar beside him sighed.

"Has he been found?"

"No. I suspect he has managed to return to them," the mustang replied the boar.

"What about the other one?"

"Half-dead after helping him escape. He's at Ivy now."

The bison nodded, then felt something in his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"They are coming."

Everyone else in the room tensed up.

"Hogson, prepare your squad at Cloud," the bison began issuing orders, "It would be nice to eliminate them at our turf."

The boar swiftly left the room followed by one of the rhinos.

"Neilsen, keep watch at Ivy house, and prepare the goons there in case."

The mustang left in a similarly brisk manner with the other rhino tailing him. The bison decided it was also time for him to leave.

* * *

Wolford's team had arrived at Vine, Tujunga. It took them quite some waiting before they spotted a convoy of vans heading eastward.

Snarlov, who was in the cruiser, received a call. He nodded at the message from Delgato's team, then relayed it to Wolford and Johnson in the field. After receiving reply from Wolford, Snarlov called dispatch.

"This is Snarlov to dispatch. Potential 10-15 between Vine and Goatshorn. Three-van convoy from west, Grizzoli reported four-sedan convoy from east. Please advise."

And after a reply from Ben, Snarlov called to Wolford and Johnson, and once in the cruiser, they drove to follow the vans to the potential conflict point.

Along the way, Wolford received a message. He smiled upon reading the short code and asked Johnson to tail the vans carefully, saying that they would ambush the vans at conflict point.

* * *

Nick was back at HQ that evening. He had already clocked out for the day, but Ben gave him a short, somewhat harried call asking him to come back to help out at HQ due to many officers, including those earlier assigned to desk duties, having been deployed on the field. Something big was happening.

Ben was busy, taking calls at his intercom, making calls to other officers, and relaying messages. Curious as he was about what was happening, Nick decided not to interrupt the buffalo. Nick could make out a few things that Ben said: a warning from Delgato, a backup request from Snarlov, calling Trunkaby back to office like what he asked Nick.

Nick figured he'd probably stick around at the Records or other such office and was about to head there when he saw Chief Clawhauser. Nick mused that he had never seen Chief stride like this; Stern steps, paws busy checking on field equipment such as gun and tranceiver, and what Nick could only guess a determined, if perhaps even bloodthirsty eyes. Was Chief going out?

"Take care of the desk job for now, Wilde," Chief tersely ordered Nick, "Ben, inform Wolford, Delgato and Rhinowitz that I'm going now."

"Yes, Chief!"

Nick reckoned he had never seen Ben looking so serious like that. Of course, this was also the first time he saw Chief leave the building. _What's going on?_

Nick realized he hadn't budged from his spot for a while when Ben called to him afted Chief walked out.

"Hey, Wilde, what's wrong?"

"Eh? Ah, um, nothing," Nick sheepishly chuckled, "This isn't some everyday, from the looks of it."

"Oh, yes, definitely," Ben sounded worried but hopeful, "but I know we'll get this over with."

For some reason Nick didn't find that sentence comforting.

"Ok, I'll head to the office now," Nick waved at Ben.

"Ok," Ben replied, then he got a call and resumed his work.

* * *

Fangmeyer had driven into Rainforest with Delgato and Grizzoli. Based on what they had heard from Wolford and Rhinowitz, the Koslovs and the Bismarcks were all set for a showdown somewhere at eastern Rainforest. The three of them occasionally traded smiles when they recalled that the two gangs had caused quite a problem at Zootopia and managed to elude ZPD for quite a long time now; Perhaps by detaining a few of them, they could start probing into the gangs' businesses and shut them down.

Meanwhile, Rhinowitz was driving beside Trumpet, with several cruisers' worth of SWAT officers trailing. Based on calculations, the Koslovs and the Bismarcks would meet somewhere at Could Lane, and even at this speed, Rhinowitz reckoned he might only reach in 20 minutes at best. He brushed off such concern soon after; Trumpet was with him, so he would handle the trip while Trumpet handled the comms. The worst thing Rhinowitz could think of right now was how dark the Rainforest was at night, even though he had seen it plenty enough times.

Meanwhile, Snarlov stopped and parked his cruiser in a spot he hoped was secluded enough after his team saw the van convoy parking at what appeared to be a warehouse, as far as warehouse might look like at Rainforest. The jungle environment provided enough cover for them, as far as they could think of. They decided to lie in wait, waiting particularly for any news from Delgato's team.

Frank was speeding northward in his personal cruiser. Well, it wasn't really that personal, as it was still ZPD's property, but for some reason none of the other officers ever took that cruiser out, not even Thomas. Frank never really took time to question that; Maybe the officers just want to designate this cruiser as Chief's mobile.

His transceiver blinked, and he turned on the speaker.

"Chief, McHorn reported he had gotten a Bismarck, and I have briefed him about the Koslov-Bismarck confrontation."

"Roger, Ben. He's on the way?"

"Yes."

A short silence later, Ben continued before disconnecting.

"Be safe, Chief."

Frank smiled. _Of course I will, Ben._

* * *

A convoy of sedans stopped some blocks away from the center of Cloud district. A polar bear came out of a sedan and took a look around with binoculars. Afted scrutinizing a building that looked like a warehouse, he got back in and the other polar bears started question him.

"That's the prison?"

"Based on what Manchas said, that should be the one," the surveying bear replied.

"So when are we going to move in and strike?"

"Now is as good a time as any."

After some discussion among the convoy, two sedans moved towards to building, with the other two trailing a fair distance behind.

Before the sedans reached the warehouse, they were greeted with bullets. The two sedans at vanguard immediately swerved to shield the other two, and before long the night was drowned in gunfire.

* * *

Wolford watched the altercation at the warehouse, constantly signalling to Johnson and Snarlov to keep still as the three prepared their own weapons. True to the code he got from McHorn, the Bismarck van convoy was packed with heavily-armed boars who were currently trading shots with the polar bears of the Koslovs.

Wolford was also waiting for Rhinowitz. He had alarmed all the other officers, including Chief, that the gunfight had begun, and from what he could surmise was the plan, they would wait until both sides expended enough resources before Rhinowitz's SWAT army came in to help clean up.

The gunfight lasted a little too long for the officers' comfort. Both sides appeared to be playing it too safe, and their personnels weren't to keen on covering more ground. If the SWAT or Chief were to arrive now, they would be at risk.

Then three boars broke from their formation and headed into the warehouse.

"What are they doing?" Snarlov quizzed.

"Replenishment, perhaps," Wolford guessed as he immediately signalled the other two to follow the boars quickly.

Wolford then felt a buzz from his transceiver.

"Wolford here."

"We'll be arriving in three minutes," Trumpet replied, "Status?"

"Gunfires north of warehouse, reinforcement expected from west, we're intercepting."

"10-4."

Another buzz.

"We saw the Koslovs," was Delgato's voice.

"Call Trumpet," Wolford signalled Johnson, "See if they can split east and west," and then returned Delgato's reply, "They're too armed. Don't fully block until Rhinowitz's SWAT arrives."

Another buzz.

"Wolford, McHorn will support you against the Bismarcks," came Chief's voice, "I'm helping Delgato."

"Copy, Chief!" Wolford concluded as he signalled Johnson and Snarlov to support McHorn.

The next fifteen minutes was chaos. Wolford, helped by a few of the SWAT squad, managed to interrupt the Bismarcks' attempt to restock from their warehouse. The Koslovs were quick to notice ZPD's arrival and tried to bail out, but lost their vanguard sedans and a few personnels in the process, one due to Delgato's blocking and the other due to Chief's assault backed with the other SWAT squad. With two of the Bismarcks vans escaping, McHorn, Snarlov and Johnson managed to intercept one.

In the end, ten Bismarcks goons, including a mustang McHorn personally caught, and six Koslovs goons were successfully detained, and after cursory inspection revealed no more armed personnels, Chief Clawhauser began issuing orders on who should call for backup to transport all the perps to the cells, who should be the ones transporting them, and who should call the medics. After all perps were hauled away and all injured ZPD officers were taken to the hospital, Chief Clawhauser was left with Trumpet, Johnson, Wolford and McHorn. The five of them considered checking the warehouse. Wolford earlier reported that two additional Bismarck goons came out of the building, and they were among the hauled, but that didn't quite hint how many more armed mammals were inside.

"Should we call for backup, Chief?" Johnson asked.

"Yes," Chief replied as he was reloading his gun, "Trumpet, Wolford, request five more officers to come here once all perps have been secured. Stand by outside and get in for cover if you see any threat."

"Regarding the Bismarcks, Chief," McHorn wanted to speak. Among the officers, he stood out for wearing a two-piece grey suit instead of any uniform.

"If you're still composing your undercover reports, hold it. How much do you know about this place?"

"There were a few mammals held inside. A few Koslovs, at least a polar bear and a black jaguar, and I heard the latter managed to flee. The others I'm not sure, probably debtors or kidnap victims."

Chief recalled what Nick had informed him before. _So the black jaguar was a prisoner of the Bismarcks who managed to escape._

"I'm going in and I want you and Johnson to accompany me."

"What do you want to check, Chief?" McHorn inquired. The other officers guessed McHorn hadn't heard.

"Eleven predators were reported missing, and one of them was related to the black jaguar."

McHorn nodded without further questions. Trumpet and Wolford then saluted Chief before assuming their guard post outside.

"Let's see what we have in here."

* * *

The warehouse was fully-lit, as could be surmised from what Wolford mentioned about the Bismarcks' reinforcement. Chief Clawhauser led the way, with Johnson and McHorn trailing.

The three of them had spent about seven minutes inside, neutralizing three Bismarck goons along the way. McHorn eventually pointed at a door, and they broke in.

The lone goon greeting them behind the door was quickly downed and cuffed by Chief, and then there were no more hostiles. The room they were in appeared to be makeshift prison, with a polar bear and two cougars being held captive. Their rags gave little hint as to who they were, though based on Chief's check, none of them were among the missing mammals. The only cause for joy in that room was that it was well-ventilated; Chief had had his share of raiding criminal dens with stuffy rooms which were uncomfortable, to say the least.

"This is just one of their prisons, Chief," McHorn informed.

"Ok. Just put it in your report later."

McHorn then proceeded to search around for cell keys while Chief and Johnson surveyed the prisoners. The bear appeared apprehensive, seemingly not fond of the cops, while the cougars appeared emaciated. Regardless, Chief warned Johnson to keep his guard up. McHorn managed to find some keys, but before he asked, Chief held out a paw.

"Hold on to that. We'll scour this place first just to be safe."

The three then investigated the rest of the warehouse, returning to the prison room once they're satisfied there were no more hostiles. Along the way, Chief queried Wolford about the backup forces and requested ambulances.

The first cougar Chief freed from the prison was utterly wasted. _Just how long had he been here?_ With the cougar being weak and nonresponsive, Chief decided to free the other cougar, who was more lucid, hinting that he hadn't been incarcerated for long.

"What happened to you, sir?" Chief began interrogating.

"Tha- thank you, officer!" the cougar excitedly grabbed Chief by the arms before cowering back, "th- they offered me c-cash. For me to g-get job. And rent."

The cougar stopped to catch his breath.

"But I-I never got a job! And they keep-p asking payback!"

 _Loan shark victim,_ Chief mused, as he signalled McHorn to help carry the cougar out, while at the same time radioing Wolford about the prisoner. Chief then headed to the polar bear as Johnson kept watch of the weak cougar.

"What did they do to you?"

"They, uh, I don't understand why they just, uh, dragged me in here. What did I do?"

Given that McHorn warned about a few imprisoned Koslovs, Chief decided to wait until McHorn came back as he planned to have the rhino haul up the bear while he and Johnson checked the cougar.

"How's he?" Chief approached Johnson.

"His vitals are faint, Chief. He'll need the hospital."

 _Makes sense._

McHorn returned as per the order Chief had relayed to Wolford, and after the rhino brought the polar bear up, Johnson hoisted up the cougar and followed Chief outside.

The two hadn't moved far when Johnson felt a squirming.

"Huh, sir, are you all right?"

Chief swiveled and noticed the cougar on Johnson's shoulders.

"Johnson, _look out!_ "

Johnson only saw Chief charging at him, while at the same time the cougar started convulsing wildly, causing Johnson to involuntarily drop him. When Johnson turned to see the cougar, he was met with a pair of golden eyes, a primal snarl, and a blur of fangs and claws.

The next thing Johnson knew, Chief was already wrestling with the cougar. Right after Chief managed to throw the cougar away, he quickly fired a few tranquilizer darts at the cougar. It did little to stop the cougar from leaping at Chief again. A few chokeholds and punches later, the cougar was down on the floor.

"Chief!"

Chief held out a paw while breathing heavily. Johnson could see that the cougar had managed to claw Chief here and there.

The two began backing off from the cougar when he got back up on all four, his eyes still emitting the inexplicable fury the cops saw when he first began thrashing. After an unsuccessful leap at the cops, the cougar twisted to attack again, but Chief quickly downed him with a few more darts. The cougar shivered for almost a full minute before laying still, his breath fading.

But Johnson also noticed a look on Chief's face. A look of confusion, of regret.

"Not... another."

Johnson could only surmise Chief would have not wanted the cougar to end this way.

"Wolford, when's the ambulance coming?" Chief radioed Wolford.

"Fifteen minutes, Chief."

The cougar was doomed.

"We have a casualty here," Chief relayed to Wolford, "and we're bringing him up."

More surprising to the other officers than the word casualty was Chief's condition and story after he and Johnson went up. With no other major incident that night, the scuffle between Chief and the cougar became a hot topic among the officers.


	13. Chapter 13: A Day With Chief

The raid at Bismarck territory the night before made it to the headlines to no one's surprise, though for the ZPD, what happened to Chief was a much bigger concern. Even as Chief made no mention about his injuries and bandages, the bullpen was murmuring about it.

Thomas followed Frank to the chief's office after the bullpen session.

"Oh, Thomas, what's the matter?" Frank nonchalantly asked as he entered his office.

"Well, just, uh, checking on you, I guess," Thomas smiled, but it was clear he was worried, "Sure you don't need some rest after all that, Frank?"

"I'm still functioning, Tom, I don't need rest," came Frank's dismissive reply as he sat down.

"If you say so," Thomas shrugged as he took his seat, "But what happened actually?"

Frank sighed at Thomas' unsurprising inquiry. In contrast, Thomas was alarmed when he saw Frank tap his fingers on the desk.

"One of the Bismarck prisoners we found there suddenly just went berserk. No rhyme or reason; In fact, he was almost dead when we first saw him."

Frank could be ruthless, as many criminals had experienced firsthand. But it always troubled him when someone was undeservedly, needlessly injured. And anytime a civilian or an innocent got violently dragged into any busting Frank was in, the cheetah always ended up fiddling with his fingers or tapping his paws in the aftermath as if to flick away or scratch off feelings of guilt.

And if a mammal just went berserk at Frank as he put it, Frank must have put him down violently.

But then Thomas realized something wrong with his reminiscing.

"That berserk mammal was a civilian?"

"I checked. He's mostly a nobody, not involved with either gang. Probably fell out with the Bismarcks over a sour deal, and thus why he's locked up."

"You sure?"

"Only a guess," Frank sighed, "After all, until he wakes up we won't know a thing."

Thomas huffed.

"Ok, then. I'm going for now."

Frank saluted Thomas as the hippo made his exit.

After finishing a stack of reports, Frank punched a few numbers on his phone. He was greeted with a chirpy reply.

"Ow, ai, Chief, oof!"

 _Hadn't Ben had his breakfast cereal less than an hour ago?_ Frank rolled his eyes.

"Ben, help me call Jackson at the hospital."

"Ah, yup, Chief- Ow oof, ow, wait... Jackson's... here."

There was something disconcerting about Ben's mention that Jackson was back at HQ. Especially given that Frank hadn't expected Jackson to return so soon, especially not in distress like this.

"Sorry, Chief, mind if I come over?"

* * *

Frank had expected that the berserk cougar had succumbed to his injuries from last night.

"City Hall had requested that the cougar be moved to another facility this morning."

But this was so unexpected, Frank wasn't sure where he wanted to start asking.

"Where? And why?"

"I'm sorry, Chief. The doctors... Estebofan, Buckton, Creekmare... they were... all reluctant to answer."

"Really?"

"I asked them what happened to that cougar, but they said City Hall staff only said they knew what to do about him," Jackson started to sound restless, "They didn't even tell me who or even what mammal took the cougar away."

 _But why?_

Had it been just about anyone else who took the cougar away, Frank could chalk it up to the cougar's kin requesting premature discharge at best, or another kidnapping at worst. But the City Hall?

"I'm going," Frank decided.

"Should I call the-"

"No, you just go back to your work."

* * *

The camel clerk at the City Hall lobby was just doing her job of telling Frank that he hadn't made an appointment with Mayor Bellwether, that much Frank could ascertain. He was just miffed that the mayor couldn't spare some time to meet someone as important as a police chief.

"Look, Ms. Daria, I have something important to discuss with the mayor. Couldn't you at least page him or something so that at least he can tell me when he can meet me? Please?"

Frank felt a tinge of guilt of harrying a hapless clerk, but the few times he called the City Hall on his way, he only heard the same response, which might even sound like a prerecorded message to those losing attentiveness from the constant rejection. He wanted to talk to anybody in the flesh.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Clawhauser, but Mayor Bellwether's schedule today is packed. I'm afraid he can't see you until tomorrow. Would you like to-"

"No, no, thank you. I'll call again if I need to make an appointment."

Frank thought to himself. This was not like him. Normally he would have waited until he could gain an audience with the mayor, no matter how long he would have needed to wait. Why was he so rushed today?

Frank had a bad feeling about what Jackson said about City Hall's involvement. Maybe that was why he was so harried. Or maybe it was the mayor's disinclination to meet him directly. Or maybe he was just irritated after being repeatedly rebuffed.

A few deep breaths later, Frank calmed down slightly, but he still wanted to get his answer now. Maybe he should draft an official summons to get the mayor to see him, at the same time preparing for the repercussions.

On his way out, Frank saw Leodore Lionheart talking to a ram. The Icekin label on the ram's shirt indicated that he was probably working on the aircon maintenance.

"You sure you're done with it? That was fast," Lionheart sounded part-amazed and part-skeptical.

"Yes, sir, today's maintenance is a quick one."

"You're talking as though you're coming again tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"Then aren't you being too quick, here? This building is a big one-," Lionheart then noticed Frank, "Oh, hi, Clawhauser."

Frank nodded, but then stopped walking. He had an idea.

"-finish earlier if you stay an entire day?" Lionheart was still interrogating the ram.

"Then I can come back with a coworker to speed up the process tomorrow, sir."

Lionheart shook his head. Before he continued, he noticed Frank walking towards him.

"I'll call your manager to discuss again about this. Thanks for today."

The ram then left, leaving Lionheart and Frank by themselves.

"I had wanted to talk to the mayor about something," Frank immediately questioned Lionheart, "and I wonder if you know."

Frank had expected that Lionheart would dismiss him immediately like Mayor Bellwether, and as if to express that, he folded his arms.

"Seems like a big case," Lionheart replied with a slight chortle.

"There was a cougar civilian who was hospitalized due to an incident at Rainforest last night," Frank pressed, "and I heard the City Hall took interest in him."

Frank considered it an achievement on Lionheart's part that the lion didn't drop his smile so readily upon hearing something so scandalous.

"No, I'm afraid I've heard nothing about that."

Frank felt uneasy with Lionheart's reply, but the way the lion answered the question hinted that he would likely say nothing helpful no matter how much Frank prodded. Of course, if the lion really meant what he said, either only the mayor knew, or someone masqueraded as a City Hall staff and kidnapped the cougar.

"Thank you for your help."

Frank had only turned around when Lionheart tapped him on the shoulder.

"Whoa, easy there," Lionheart became defensive when Frank turned around instantly, "I heard about last night. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am," Frank replied after a brief confused beat, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. I mean, well, you may be a police chief, but otherwise you're still a Zootopia citizen."

Frank didn't know what to make of Lionheart's comment, other than that it somehow sounded sincere. He left without saying anything else. He immediately reached for his transceiver once he got into his cruiser.

"Bogo, call Higgins."

It took only about five seconds for Thomas to answer.

"Hey, Chief, what's up?"

"Could you draft up a warrant for the hospital, especially the security staff? I want to check who took that cougar away."

* * *

It was already a few hours since Frank's visit to City Hall, and now he was with the security staff of the hospital viewing the cam recording.

The cam eventually showed a few caribou nurses enter the room the cougar was cared in. While the nurses prepared to move the bed out, the cougar convulsed and began thrashing, scaring the nurses. Frank turned to another cam just in time to see that the nurses had been followed by a pair of wolves. Frank knew there were no wolves working at the hospital; for that matter, there had never been a predator staff at this hospital for a few years.

The wolves entered the room swiftly, and with little hesitation one of them shot the cougar. Judging from the lack of blood, it was apparently sedative. The wolves then signaled to the caribou nurses, who then took out the unconscious cougar all the way to the parking lot. It helped them that the hospital was vacant that morning.

Frank's investigation ended as the cougar was loaded into a van that was clearly not a medic vehicle. Aside from the build and color of the van, and that the van apparently didn't have a number, Frank couldn't glean more information.

"Were any of you informed who those wolves are?" Frank inquired.

"We were only informed they were from City Hall, sir," the elephant security officer shook her head. For a second there, her swinging trunk reminded Frank of Trumpet and his trunk-swinging habit.

"So they informed you personally?"

"No, it was Doctor Estebofan who called us about it."

"Why didn't anyone call the cops when those wolves get in?"

Nobody answered. Frank immediately guessed these mammals were afraid of the wolves, or perhaps of City Hall's retribution, assuming those wolves really work for the mayor.

With nothing else to gather from the hospital, Frank went back to HQ.

Frank spent some time accessing the traffic cam database and scrutinizing the footage. From the hospital, that van moved northward, eventually going to Rainforest District, and heading offroad from a secluded road somewhere before Haymarket, apparently northwest possibly towards Bromeliad or further. Looking at the time of the footage, roughly six hours had passed, and Frank weighed the option of checking the rest of the traffic recording at Rainforest, or pursuing the cold trail now.

"Thomas, could you help me check the entire traffic database of Rainforest District today between 7 to 9?" Frank called Thomas as he immediately headed out.

"Something wrong, Frank?"

"A possible kidnapping. I'm going to the field, so let me know if you see any footage of that van I just sent you."

As Frank walked past Ben, the buffalo hastily finished chomping the donut he was munching.

"Out owgen, Chief?"

Frank nodded as he smiled at Ben. For some reason, he found Ben most endearing when he's munching his donuts. Reminded Frank how long it had been since the last time he ate one.

"Owkee, jowst," Ben then quickly swallowed, "be safe, Chief."

"You know it."

* * *

Frank was glad the sun hadn't vanished yet by the time he neared the place where the van was last seen. He had asked Johnson and Jackson, whom he had assigned for patrol at Rainforest, to investigate any place Thomas had informed him about the possible whereabouts of the van, and so far they hadn't managed to find a match.

When Frank reached the spot he believed was where the van bolted off road, he alighted and analyzed the surrounding. He smiled when he saw some flattened grass; He probably had found his quarry.

"Hey, Frank," Thomas radioed in, "I think I saw that van somewhere at Bromeliad."

"Got it," Frank replied while looking at his phone, "And, yeah, I got your screenshot."

"You're going there now?"

"Not right now," Frank then paused for a while as he looked at the trail, "I've seen where the van might be heading."

"Mind sending me the coordinates?"

"No problem. Jackson and Johnson need to know too."

With weapon in hand, Frank started walking into the unfrequented forested area. He was impressed at the van's trail; Whatever left of the trail showed that the driver was a skilled daredevil. They managed to weave through the forest barely scratching any tree, and there were times the van might have leapt due to the terrain, and yet they successfully made their way to the other side of the forest.

He flashed back to Wilde and his weasel chase.

Frank shook his head. Why was he thinking about something so trivial right now?

Frank then returned to his cruiser and drove to the road on the other side of the forest. He groaned upon finding out another offroad trail; Apparently that van's driver was resolute to avoid the roads altogether, hinting that they might know about the traffic cams. Frank was troubled. _Who were these guys?_ He never knew the City Hall had such highly-skilled staff. The level of expertise they showed indicated that they were very well-trained, soldier-like even. Some of the cops whom he never thought would do this? Neither the Koslovs nor the Bismarcks had ever showed this level of competence.

And as the sun had left for the day, Frank just realized this spot was the same spot Thomas had showed him just earlier, especially once he noticed a traffic cam a distance away. In other words, the van was last seen around here. It would seem a night search was due, but that depended on how much of the force could be gathered for such a daunting task.

His cruiser's transceiver beeped, and he heard Johnson.

"This is Johnson, 10-23, Haymarket South Creek per coordinate. Where are you, Chief?"

"Tujunga-Bromeliad Highway, but stay put there, I'm coming over."

"Roger."

* * *

The three feline officers standing by Johnson's cruiser discussed about Chief Clawhauser's findings, with Higgins on the line throughout the discussion. Chief concluded that he would be planning to have more officers mobilized to find that van.

"All right, it's late," Chief brought the night into attention, "You can go home."

"We can go together, Chief," Jackson replied.

"Ah, yes , true. But I'm only going back to office."

The three of them traded salute before going for their respective cruisers. Chief was still walking to his when Johnson had already started his. The two officers surveyed their surrounding for a while as though waiting for Chief to get in and drive.

"Looks like it's going to be busy tomorrow," Jackson spoke.

"Aye," Johnson replied, then glanced at the tiger for a while, "Well, at least with what happened yesterday, those two probably would be lying low for a while."

"Frankly I kinda hate that kind of false peace, if you know what I'm saying," Jackson frowned.

"I know what you mean, but what can I say? We haven't gotten the honchos."

"True," Jackson heaved a sigh, then leered at Johnson, "So how's your-"

Johnson's panicked look as the lion looked at the rear view mirror caught Jackson's attention, but Johnson had bolted out of the cruiser before the tiger could ask a question.

Johnson couldn't understand what he saw. Chief slumped against the cruiser, writhing in pain, breathing unsteadily and whipping his arms haphazardly. Johnson tried to call out to Chief as Jackson came to check, and as the cheetah dropped on all four, his convulsion slowed.

"Chief! What's-"

And then Johnson froze when he saw those eyes. Those same eyes filled to the brim with primal fury.

Before Jackson could ask what happened, the cheetah had rammed Johnson, clawing and biting rabidly. Johnson managed to shove the cheetah away, but he lunged again at Johnson and the two dove straight into Johnson's cruiser. After the lion managed to kick the cheetah away, he slammed the door and clutched his head as he saw the cheetah turned towards Jackson.

"Jackson! Get in!"

Johnson wasn't sure if Jackson heard what he yelled, and he only watched in horror as the cheetah leapt at Jackson. The tiger managed to dodge, but he suffered a gash. Jackson then hurried to the cruiser and got right just before the cheetah managed to catch him the second time.

Johnson and Jackson were trading horrified looks as the cheetah spent the next few moments ramming and battering their cruiser. Jackson eventually managed to grab a tranquilizer in the cruiser, but the cheetah was no longer in view. However, the two knew the cheetah hadn't let up his assault, and a few times the cruiser nearly toppled over from the cheetah's forceful pounces.

Finally the cheetah stood, no, crouched, facing Johnson directly from behind the window. Jackson aimed his tranquilizer towards the cheetah, all the while shivering at the sight of the cheetah's eyes.

"Lo- _lower the window_ , Johnson."

The lion was frozen with fear, seemingly unable to hear anything the tiger said.

But even if that weren't the case, Jackson knew he couldn't bring himself to shoot his chief either.

The cheetah then fled to into the darkness. The two officers spent a few minutes petrified, having no clue what had just befallen them and, most importantly, their chief. Jackson regained his senses first, and he inched towards the transceiver, pained to see Johnson thoroughly shocked.

"This- this Jackson. 10-91V," Jackson stopped for breath, "a cheetah, berserk, Haymarket South Creek."

"Okay, Officer Jackson, let me get a backup."

Jackson didn't know what to think of Bogo's reply. How would the poor buffalo react once he learned that it was Chief himself who went berserk?

"Is Chief with you?"

Never had that question felt so heavy.


	14. Chapter 14: One Cat To Another

The morning was the same as usual for Leo as he strode into his office. Which he found rather odd, considering what happened the night before. The press went wild with the story of the raid at the Bismarcks, especially because the police chief went down personally, but so far the City Hall staffs he had talked to this morning didn't seem overly concerned with it. Not sure about the mayor though.

He got a call on his phone.

"Yes? ... Done? Good. ... Yeah, good. ... I know. ... All right, bye."

Leo had expected that call after he found out there was an injured civilian during the raid. He sighed when he recalled about the cougar; He had gone to the hospital this morning to check up on the cougar, and the result wasn't pleasant.

To be honest he was feeling tired as he checked on the cougar very early in the morning. But he thought it was worth it somehow as he ended up witnessing something important.

The cougar woke up thrashing violently until he was sedated by Dr. Creekmare.

He was still pondering the cause of it. The doctor said the cougar was dying, which didn't correlate to the violent thrashing.

Leo then approached a camel clerk.

"Good Morning, Ms. Daria," Leo paused for a while admiring the necklace Daria was wearing, "Has anyone from Icekin arrived here for the air conditioning maintenance?"

"Yes, Mr. Lionheart, a ram servicemammal by the name of Woolter."

Leo looked around to see no ram at the lobby.

"Has he... left?"

"No, sir, he said he just wanted to go to the restroom- Oh, there he is."

Leo saw an approaching ram wearing an Icekin shirt, and the ram immediately spoke to Daria.

"Excuse me if I may have been away too long, but is Mr. Leodore Lionheart here?"

"He... is," Daria pointed towards Leo.

"Hello, Mr. Woolter," Leo offered a pawshake, "I just heard from Ms. Daria here that you would be doing the air conditioning maintenance?"

"Yes, sir," Woolter shook Leo's paw.

"I'll take over from here, Ms. Daria. Thank you."

Leo then guided Woolter to where he should do his work and whom he could speak to in lieu of him in case. Leo himself then went to his office to prepare for the day.

* * *

The city council morning meeting was relatively short as far as Leo was concerned, and Mayor Bellwether seemed to be uninterested in discussing much about many of the issues. This irked the lion, and he would fish out for some answers on the mayor's trip back to his office.

"Look, Mayor, the entire council is still not keen on your budget idea for this project," was just one of the many things Leo wanted to question the mayor, "Can't you just spend more time in the office to talk this over instead of going out yet another time?"

"You make it sound like I don't make time for city business," Mayor Bellwether retorted.

"I think you should start counting the sheer amount of hours you've been away from City Hall."

"I have important stuffs, Lionheart. Besides," Mayor leered at Leo, "you yourself are quite the busybody from what I've heard."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Playing Samaritan to that hospitalized tiger?"

Leo huffed in exasperation.

"You wouldn't happen to think that I did that to bolster the city's faith and trust for us City Hall folks?"

"You're just fanning your own ego, Lionheart," Mayor rebuked, "That majority vote for you to become Deputy Mayor had gone over your head."

 _What's with this personal attack all of a sudden?_ Leo decided to shrug it.

"Sounds like you've already forgotten about the demonstration two weeks after you were sworn in."

"About not liking a sheep mayor, yes?"

"No, about why you dropped the plans for a few favored facilities to make way for a few superfluous ones."

"Oh, please," Mayor wheezed, "Those chompers always have some excuse."

"Language, Douglas-"

" _Don't!_ Call me. _That._ "

Leo sighed. It wasn't everyday that he called Mayor Bellwether by his first name, not since he last saw him during the university years. But he was always perplexed why Mayor took offense to it all the time.

"As long as I am mayor, I will be addressed as Mayor. _Bellwether._ "

"Ok, sorry, slip of tongue. Anyway, back to the council meeting, mind if I arrange another one later today? That is, if you're free."

"Just share me the discussion later or tomorrow when I'm free."

Bellwether picked up his phone, and at the same time Leo saw Woolter seemingly about to head out.

"Mayor, we'll talk again later. Have a nice day."

Leo then rushed downstairs to meet Woolter.

"Hey, Mr. Woolter, how's it going?"

"I've finished for today."

Leo furrowed as he looked at the time. Just a little over an hour? Really?

"You sure you're done with it? That was fast," Leo sounded part-amazed and part-skeptical.

"Yes, sir, today's maintenance is a quick one."

"You're talking as though you're coming again tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"Then aren't you being too quick, here? This building's a big one-,"

Leo then noticed Chief Frank Clawhauser about to walk out, and the two traded gaze. The cheetah seemed to have been at City Hall for some time. Leo then shot a quick "Oh, hi, Clawhauser" before turning his attention back at Woolter.

"So anyway, you're saying today's not the entire work, but wouldn't the entire maintenance finish earlier if you stay an entire day?"

"Then I can come back with a coworker to speed up the process tomorrow, sir."

Leo shook his head. This ram sounded too nonchalant, and Leo became concerned about the works. Before he continued, he noticed Clawhauser walking towards him.

"I'll call your manager to discuss again about this. Thanks for today."

The ram then left, leaving Leo and Clawhauser by themselves.

"I had wanted to talk to the mayor about something," Clawhauser wasted no time asking, "and I wonder if you know."

 _Now this is something_ , Leo thought. It wasn't everyday that the police chief wanted to talk to Bellwether. Although at the same time Clawhauser seemed to suspect that Leo was in cahoots with Bellwether regarding whatever it was the cheetah wanted to ask, if his arm-folding was any indication.

"Seems like a big case," Leo chortled slightly, though Clawhauser's bandages finally caught his attention.

"There was a cougar civilian who was hospitalized due to an incident at Rainforest last night, and I heard the City Hall took interest in him."

 _So ZPD had also taken interest in that cougar._

"No, I'm afraid I've heard nothing about that."

Leo answered quickly. Clawhauser's hum hinted some suspicion, and Leo himself then feigned tapping his chin. Admittedly Clawhauser's words were not so accusatory, but the cheetah was right; _Someone_ at City Hall took interest in the cougar.

"Thank you for your help," was all Clawhauser replied with before walking away.

For some reason Leo thought of asking about Clawhauser's condition. He then reached out to Clawhauser and tapped the cheetah on the shoulder. Clawhauser swiveled so suddenly that it surprised Leo.

"Whoa, easy there," Leo composed himself, "I heard about last night. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am," Clawhauser sounded puzzled, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. I mean, well..."

Leo began thinking up an excuse when he remembered his visits to the tiger and the cougar.

"... You may be a police chief, but otherwise you're still a Zootopia citizen."

Which, as far as Leo knew, was true. He had wanted to be a mayor because he believed he cared about the well-beings of Zootopia citizens, and he wanted them to know that. That he lost the top seat was a personal sore point to him, but he was glad that the populace was somehow willing to let him be deputy mayor. He had heard that they weren't keen on the other candidates of the deputy mayor, who were handpicked by Bellwether after the sheep got the job, saying that unlike Leo, they looked too meek, too subservient or even too sycophantic. There were even complaints of nepotism, which Leo just couldn't wrap his head around since he knew there were no other Bellwethers in Zootopia politics.

Leo then realized he was too lost in thought without noticing that Clawhauser had left without a word. That cheetah had always been curt. Leo sighed and headed back to his office.

* * *

The city council meeting that late afternoon wasn't very fruitful. The councilors merely repeated their stances this morning, and the other few preferred waiting for mayor's words for the issues. And Bellwether had once again left for the day.

Leo figured he might as well go home to sleep.

He then worked as normal in his own office. At least there's a few new feedbacks that he could add to the housing projects at Sahara and Tundratown.

His phone rang. The number belonged to Zootopia General Hospital.

"Hello? ... What did he do? ... I see... All right, I'll manage from there. Thank you."

Leo leaned back and wheezed. Clawhauser had paid the hospital a visit to interrogate their security staff about security cam footages. Which meant now Clawhauser knew there was a group of wolves who took the cougar away, and the cheetah would likely suspect kidnapping.

That cougar's about to become a messy affair.

Leo had thought about the cougar. That was the first time he saw a dying mammal suddenly waking up in rage, although the raging itself wasn't new to him. And that worried him.

Leo ran his paws over his face, and stopped at his nose. He still felt the thin, jagged ridges running across his nose. Moreover, he still keenly remembered how he got them, not very long ago, might as well yesterday.

* * *

Given the result of the council meeting earlier, Leo had opted to draft up several documentations, mostly contingency plans, related to the projects discussed that time. He wasn't paying attention on how long he had been holed up in his office after dinner earlier, and he was a bit surprised when he saw the clock. Still, there were some more work to do, so Leo steeled himself for working possibly until midnight.

He then heard someone ringing his mobile phone. Leo shrugged; Given that this was already past office hour, nobody would ring his office line. But the name he saw on the screen made him tense; He wasn't expecting this call now.

"Hello, doctor. ... Yes, why are you calling? I mean usually they're the ones... Oh, uh huh... What do you mean I know him? ..."

Leo went agape.

"No way..."

A moment of simply listening later, Leo made up his mind.

"Listen, I'm going there now... Just one? ... I see, that'll do."

Leo then hastily packed up his work, left his office and headed down to the lobby. There was no one left there except a snow leopard security guard on patrol.

"Going home soon, Mr. Lionheart?" the snow leopard greeted.

"Oh, yes, Mr... Purrton." Leo almost forgot the name of this guard; He didn't see him often enough.

"Then have a safe trip, sir," Mr. Purrton tipped his cap, and Leo saluted as though doing the same.

Leo hadn't waited for long outside City Hall when a black sedan arrived. The white wolf driver had only wound down his window halfway when Leo nodded and got in.

* * *

After what felt like hours of driving northward in the dead of the night, Leo looked out to see that he had left the civilization. The roads were now dark, unilluminated, but still operational despite a lack of maintenance. Leo remembered this stretch of road had never seen use for years, which was why there was never any budget spent on it.

At the end of the dark path, Leo saw a dark building overlooking a cliff- no, a waterfall. The sedan went through an archway that said 'Cliffside Asylum'. As they reached the gate, a wolf in the guard post opened the gate. Leo recalled he had asked the wolf driver about his companions, and the wolf only said they were recuperating. The relative lack of anybody out here creeped him out, though he decided not to question that until later.

Leo went into the building himself as the wolf driver made his way back to the gate.

Leo was greeted by another wolf carrying two flashlights. The wolf parted one to Leo who was in the midst of taking off his jacket due to the sweltering interior, and the two then navigated the dark halls with the lights. Leo noticed this wolf was brown, but what alarmed him more was that his T-shirt was shredded in some places. Shredded as though with claws. And the wolf himself was appropriately bandaged.

The building had not been used for a very long time, that much Leo knew. He had been here before. There would be one sector in the building where the power still ran. And that was where he was being guided to.

"I can make it from here," Leo told the wolf at some point, "you can go back to whatever you're doing."

"Yes, sir."

Leo then saw light at the end of the corridor. He had found his destination, which was only marginally more illuminated than the rest of the building.

The first room Leo walked past after reaching the only powered sector in the building was an infirmary. He was surprised when he saw several wolves inside looking messed up, badly injured, and three or four were apparently unconscious, or maybe sedated. A badger in medical outfit noticed Leo at the door.

"Could you help with the patching?" the badger asked one of the wolves, "I'll attend to Mr. Lionheart."

The badger then picked up a docket, a pen and a few other things, then signaled Leo into another room.

Like the infirmary, the room the badger led Leo to was rather dim. Unlike the infirmary, there were cells in the room. Leo gazed around to see a few mammals inside the cells. No, mammals weren't the right term to describe these... animals. Yes, animals. They were all down on all fours, snarling, growling... pouncing without warning whatsoever. Including that one bear.

Leo kept remembering that bear. A loner, having no kin who lived in Zootopia, but nevertheless a sweet chap. That was, until one day when the bear invited Leo to his house for evening tea (actually the bear mentioned it offhand, but Leo decided he wouldn't mind some hospitality from a civilian), saying that it was as appreciation for whatever the lion had done to the city.

Leo still remembered the silence of the house, the sound of kettle, the aroma of supermarket tea (which was fine; that bear wouldn't be able to afford connoisseur tea), the short banter among the bear, Leo and one of his wolf bodyguards. Then the sound of broken teacup, a sudden groan. And there were a lunging bear, his bodyguard wrestling the bear, his own paws choking the bear, and tranquilizer darts.

Until today he couldn't understand what happened and how and why. And eleven more savage mammals later, he still hadn't found a clue.

But the shock from the latest case eclipsed the rest.

"As I have told you before, sir," the badger doctor pointed out at one corner cell, "he was the latest mammal to go savage."

Leo nearly dropped to his knees when he saw a cheetah being restrained in the cell. Not just any cheetah; a muscular cheetah, wearing a tattered remains of a police uniform. Even in restraint, the cheetah tried to flail wildly, as if to mock the frailty of his bindings.

"This is his name tag, sir."

The badger produced a ripped piece of cloth with a name tag attached to it.

Clawhauser.

It took Leo forever to compose his words, all the while watching the cheetah thrashed as much as he could under restraint. The badger spoke first.

"This guy... is a monster. We sent nine of our wolf squad in total, and he trashed them. Only one managed to get out of it completely unscathed."

"... Doctor..."

"Yes, sir?"

"You have _got_ to find the cure now."

"Yes, sir, I understand-"

" _You don't understand!_ "

Leo was shaken by his own words. He had just snapped at her.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I am sorry, sir," the badger spoke as if trying to console him, "I still don't know why this kept happening. Even now I'm still hypothesizing about the root cause."

"Which is?"

The badger gulped, as if knowing her next words would make Leo blew up.

"The mammals who have gone savage are all predators. I am beginning to suspect it might be down to the biology."

It took Leo some time to digest what he just heard, and he reflexively lurched towards the badger.

"Did you... do you realize what you have just said?"

"Yes. And sooner or later the public will know. Or will have to know."

"And tell them that we predators can go savage at any moment? Doctor..."

" _Are you serious?!_ "

Leo yelled, and the cheetah roared as if in accord.

"If the public don't know about this, sir, eventually there will be civilian casualty from the savage predators," the badger tried to remain calm, "Our wolf squad haven't recovered well enough to respond to any savage predator in the near future. If the public knew in advance, at least-"

"No. No no no, no."

 _Tell the public that only predators go savage?_ Leo knew nothing good will come of it.

"I will provide you with more resources. I will pay you _more_. But I want you to find the cause and the cure _now_ , before the public find out that a ZPD officer has gone savage."

Leo huffed as he began to turn around. He gave one last look to the cheetah, and he glared back with frenzied eyes.

"ZPD is one of the only semblances of order we have, doctor. And we have a lot of predators in ZPD."

The badger froze. That was one sentence she realized she couldn't refute.

"I'll do my best, sir."


	15. Chapter 15: Defender

Nick knew he definitely wasn't the only officer who gawked when Chief Clawhauser entered the bullpen in bandages. Was the raid at the Bismarcks last night that violent?

"Can the chatter, it's work time."

Indeed, the other officers, including those who participated in the raid, which were almost the entire bullpen, were murmuring about Chief's condition until Chief told them to shut it. At the end of the session, Nick thought he saw Higgins looking worried as the hippo left the bullpen not long after Chief.

On his way out, Nick went up to Ben, who was preparing breakfast cereal.

"Yo, Bogo."

"Hi, Wilde," Ben cheerfully replied, but then frowned an instant later, "Aw, sorry, I got no donuts to share."

 _Of all the things that you're worried about, Ben._

"Nah, that's fine," Nick continued, "Just wondering, though, did Chief tell you anything about his injuries?"

"Well, no. He just said that's occupational hazard," Bogo fidgeted, "Still, I wonder what happened last night."

"Yeah. I mean, I'm new, but this is also the first time I see him patched up like that."

"I know, right?"

"Oh, well, I think it's best I go to work. Can't let Chief think I'm lollygagging."

Nick then bolted out after saluting Ben who had begun eating his cereal.

* * *

The day was generally uneventful, with Nick barely encountering any traffic violation. Once the day drew to a close, Nick returned to HQ, filed his daily report, then headed out.

When Nick walked past Ben, he noticed the buffalo wasn't touching his donuts, and in fact appeared a bit fidgety. Nick decided to inquire.

"Yo, Bogo."

"Oh, hi Wilde," the buffalo put on his smile.

"Is it just me or is something bothering you?"

"Ah, you probably haven't heard. Chief has gone out again this afternoon."

"Oh, I see."

"Don't worry, though, I know he'll be fine."

Nick mused on what might have caused Chief to become so active on the field these two days, but decided not to probe further for now. That Bismarck raid was a major issue, so for it to have a long trail of aftermaths requiring Chief's attention wouldn't be so out of place.

Right after he stepped out of HQ, Nick got a phone call.

"Oh, hi, mom ... You're going out with Aunt Amy? ... Ah, I see, okay, okay ... Don't worry, mom, the food outside aren't that bad ... What, I'm not flattering you enough? ... Hahaha, ok, love you, mom."

 _So there would be no dinner at home tonight. No problem._

* * *

Nick's trip home after dinner was the usual night fare, and he appreciated the lack of commotion. Of course, he then chided himself for thinking that way; Had he forgotten that saying nothing happened would invite something to happen?

And that was precisely the case about a block away.

A wildebeest carrying a slingbag was walking away some distance in front of him, and a sullen hyena was walking from the opposite direction. The wildebeest probably was reading a phone, while the hyena was drooping with paws in pockets. With neither paying attention to the other, they bumped, and the wildebeest yelped.

"Ah, uh, I'm s-s-sorry," the hyena could be heard timidly apologizing.

"Oh, dear, me too, silly me," the female wildebeest tried to shrug off the incident.

While Nick watched the two, he heard a sound of running from across the street complete with an irate "Hey, you!", and in a flash, a grey bunny accosted the hyena.

"Trying to do something fishy, huh?"

Nick groaned as he immediately sprinted towards Judy.

"What? Wait, no-"

"Hey, aren't you...?"

"Hey, hey, everyone!"

Judy turned around to see Nick , who quickly put himself between Judy and the hyena.

"Oh, great, fuzzball cop," Judy growled then pointed at the hyena, "See this guy? A pickpocket. Must be trying to snatch some wallet again."

"What- what? Sir, please, no," the hyena frantically objected, "No, I don't- I'm not trying to steal- Not anymore!"

"Oh, yeah? What about that time with the zebra?"

"Look, little grazer-" the hyena sounded half-angry and half-panicked, "I don- don't know what you've got against me, but I'm not taking this lady's stuff! Ok?!"

Nick wasn't sure what to pity the hyena for: The fact that he looked quite emaciated as though he hadn't eaten for days, or that Judy was harassing him. On a second thought, was this the same hyena who was found unconscious at Saguaro some time back?

"Ok, ok, that's enough," Nick shoved Judy and the hyena apart.

"Hey, aren't you cops supposed to help civilians?" Judy was clearly irate, while the panicked hyena immediately scurried away yelling "I did nothing!" over and over.

"Aren't you being too harsh? You don't even know if he has-"

"Eh, let's see, where's my wallet-"

Nick was a split second to late to catch Judy as she blitzed off towards the hyena's general direction at the mention of the wildebeest's wallet. He turned to the wildebeest to check.

"Was your wallet stolen, Miss?"

"Oh, eh?" the wildebeest appeared bemused, before she giggled while rummaging her bag, "Ah, it just slipped my mind that I put my wallet in here after shopping earlier."

Nick ran his paw over his face. Poor hyena.

"Where do you live, Miss? Maybe I can help escort you first?"

"Oh, you're so kind, uh, fox cop?" the wildebeest apparently didn't know Nick was a cop, at least until Nick flashed his badge, "Ah, a fox cop indeed, tee hee. My house is just at that corner, so no, thanks."

Nick sighed in relief as the wildebeest pointed at an apartment just across the road. The less time he needed to escort this wildebeest, the more time he had to save the hyena.

"Have a sweet dream, officer!"

After seeing the wildebeest enter a house at the corner, Nick quickly dashed to where he thought the hyena and Judy might have run to. He finally encountered Judy in an alley, standing over the hunkering hyena.

"I tell you I didn't take anything!" the hyena already sounded half-sobbing.

"Oh, really? Just give back that lady's wallet then maybe I can leave you-"

"I did _not_!"

The hyena was practically a bullied kit in tears now, and Nick rushed in.

"That's _enough!_ "

Judy turned to face Nick and sighed in exasperation.

"Ok, ok, all right, fine. It's a cop's duty to arrest the thief and get wallet back to the victim, I get it, I get it," then came a huff, "I guess I was overboard."

"You are _worse_ than overboard!"

Judy wasn't expecting a yell. After a brief silence during which the hyena could be heard sobbing, Nick continued.

"The lady misplaced her wallet. Nothing was stolen!"

Nick wasn't sure those words reached Judy, though she probably was shocked. He felt a slight relief as he saw the hyena slowly crawling away, although still in tears.

"Well, really? Because I know that hyena pickpocketed a zebra-" she suddenly paused.

"So you did beat him up at Saguaro the last time."

Judy noticed Nick slowly grew furious, and without thinking huffed and shook her head.

"Ok, look, you got me. That hyena pickpocketed a zebra at Saguaro that time, and since there was no cop around I felt like I should help."

Nick's rage didn't abate in the slightest.

"Well, look, I've been living in the streets for quite some time, and I've seen enough criminals repeating their crimes after you threw them behind the bars for a few days. Or after they they're smacked around as a lesson. These guys just won't change for the better-"

"And you beat him up because of a crime that's already long past?"

A silence fell, broken by only the hyena's whimper from afar.

"Look, I can understand you keep a look out of mammals who have done wrong before, but if you treat them like this, _you_ are the one preventing them from changing for the better!"

"Fine. So you saw me beat up that pickpock- I mean, sorry," she chortled, "ex-pickpocket. Wanna arrest me, huh?"

Judy mockingly lifted her paws towards Nick.

"Yep. I really should have arrested you earlier than this."

"Just so you know, fuzzball," Judy scowled, "you ain't gonna like it if word gets out that chomper cops only care about chomper criminals."

"Fine with-"

They heard a weak scream, followed by a yell of help. That voice sounded like the hyena earlier.

"Lucky you," Nick growled at Judy as he walked towards where the hyena was going, "If you wanna scram now, go ahead, lest I'll cuff you once I deal with that."

Without waiting for Judy to make up her mind, Nick rushed towards where the hyena at and was met with a moose angrily hoisting up the hyena. A quick whiff revealed the moose was drunk.

"Ooo, lookatja, lil chomper," the moose then burped, "whatja doing, huuuuh?"

"Uh, mister moose?" Nick tried to get the moose's attention.

"Aaah, anothah chompa, heh heh." It seemed to work.

"Good. Now can I ask you to put that hyena down?"

Nick paused as he fanned his nose. Just how much booze had this moose drunk? He was interrupted when the moose just flung the hyena right at him, and Nick managed to catch the hyena safely.

"Eeerh, can't even walk home with- eh- t someone tripping me."

Nick stepped aside with the hyena in tow as the moose lurched forward, swaying a bit as though trying to stomp Nick or the hyena. Nick considered that he couldn't leave either the hyena or the moose each by himself, so he decided to get the hyena to safety first on account of his wrecked state. He reached for his phone and called Ben.

"Bogo, you there? Wilde here."

"Uh? Hey, Wilde, what's the matter?"

"10-56, 224 Cypress Boulevard, male moose heading east. Need help here, I have another civilian in my paws."

"Ok, I'll," Ben stopped talking for a while, "send Snarlov there. He's within five miles."

 _That was fast,_ Nick mused. He had occasionally been told about Ben's expertise at dispatch duty, but pinpointing the nearest officer this quickly was pretty impressive.

"Thanks Bogo."

"But who's crying beside you there?"

"Oh," Nick was slightly amused that Ben heard the sobbing hyena, "the mammal I'll be escorting myself."

Nick kept an eye on the staggering moose while keeping the hyena within arm's reach. He felt he might regret not leaving the moose alone, but if no one watched over him, that moose might get into trouble, like walking right onto the roads and getting run over. Which almost happened when a car whizzed past and the moose nearly tumbled, cursing the driver afterwards.

"So, uh, anyway, kid," Nick then thought of asking the hyena a few things, "where do you live?"

The hyena trembled, appearing unwilling to answer.

"Pl- please, no, don't tell my m-mom- No, I'll go back myself, thanks."

"If you didn't do anything bad this time, don't worry. You don't need to fear me."

Nick switched his gaze between the hyena and the moose. The drunk was almost out of sight.

"Look, uh, could you tell me where your house is? Because, frankly here, as a cop I don't want to leave that moose all by himself either," and the sound of the moose stumbling upon a trash can validated Nick, "and I'd rather watch over you than let you walk by yourself unprotected like this."

The hyena hunched, looking as if about to cry again.

"Acacia Cres- Crescent."

Nick considered the direction. It was possible for him to go to Acacia Crescent by first going the same way as the drunken moose, then once he reached the end of Cypress Boulevard, assuming the moose were to go there, he'd head straight northward.

"So, here's the plan, kid," Nick began by pointing towards the moose's direction, "I've called another cop to deal with that moose, but until then, I'll be trailing him to make sure he's ok, and I want you to follow me for your safety. Once I'm done with that moose, I'll take you to your house. That ok?"

The hyena nodded and started sobbing again. _This kid's probably in his mid or late teens, but quite a crybaby_ , Nick mused.

As Nick feared, in occasions while he's following the moose, the moose took offense and lashed out verbally, and Nick backed down to avoid confrontation. Eventually Snarlov arrived and hauled the moose away, and the trip back to the hyena's house was more peaceful.

The hyena's mother frantically hugged him, in the meantime asking Nick what happened, and Nick said the hyena was attacked by thugs when walking home. She profusely thanked Nick before taking her son inside.

Nick then looked up to his left where a lion officer used to stand by a battered little fox kit so long ago. He then gave a proud salute before departing the scene.

* * *

It wasn't long into his trip home when Nick heard someone calling him.

"Long time no see, Fuzz."

Nick swiveled to see a fennec fox. Finnick.

"Long time indeed," Nick replied, but clearly was alert, "What's the problem?"

"So you thought I've been stalking you huh?"

The fennec leaned on a nearby wall. Nick wasn't sure if he was being too obvious or the fennec was very observant.

"Yeah, can't blame you. Especially since a little while ago when Judy's screaming at me about being annoyed by a fox cop."

Nick recalled his last conversation with an indignant Judy, the one before tonight's quarrel.

"Hope you're ok, but I wanna apologize on her behalf."

"For... what?" Nick didn't expect that.

"I toldja some time back she has bad friends right?"

"Uh huh."

"She's always wanted to be a cop, you see, but I reckon mingling with those bad fellas messed up her morals."

Nick couldn't deny that statement, but before he shared his thought Finnick continued.

"At least luckily these few days she's cool with the kitchen work I gave her. Some hours a day, at least; she says she wanna try first before plunging in. But hey, she got herself a respectable job, and I got to watch over her sometimes, at least."

"You run a food joint?"

"No, my pal's diner, but that's beside the point."

Finnick let out a long sigh.

"I think I toldja before she's from Bunnyburrows?"

"I think so?"

"So at least I tell ya again. And I think I told you she ain't the first outsider who went to Zootopia to become hobo?"

"That you did."

"There's been a few of those poor sods thinking they went to big city Zootopia not getting whatever they dreamed off. And by the way in case you're wondering, I know you're native."

The fennec's rambling started to sound confusing.

"So me and a few pals, loose pals, anyway, made it our duty to be foster family for those sods, teach em about the city, or maybe send them back home unharmed if they want it, or just overall offer them a place to live if they insist on living in the city. Ever heard of the Grand Pangolin Arms?"

Nick was still lost in Finnick's rapid fire blather that he reflexively shook his head.

"You wouldn't know it, but I'm friends with the landlady there, Ol' hag Dharma," Finnick segued into a chuckle, "and Judy's now housed there. My bill."

Seeing Nick confused, Finnick decided to call it a day.

"Look, Fuzz, bottomline is, thanks for being on the lookout for Judy whenever you get the chance. Don't wanna see her murder some poor chap for no reason."

Before Nick replied, Finnick had given him a 'Ciao' and vanished. Nick was again left flabbergasted; This definitely wasn't the first time Finnick spilled this much story about Judy under the pretense of caring for her. Nick wondered if he should hound the fennec to get answers.


	16. Chapter 16: Melancholy

This morning was a hodgepodge of puzzlement for Nick.

Ben was as cheerful as ever, but that was only because he tried to put up a smile; Something was bothering him. Everyone else was tense, but apparently not because of the raid at Bismarck's two days ago. And Higgins was the one who handed out assignments in the bullpen.

They said Chief Clawhauser hadn't returned since last night.

The unusual situation had caused Nick to become unusually alert, nosy even. He eventually learnt that Johnson and Jackson were the last officers who saw Chief. Johnson was absent for the day, which left Jackson for questioning. But Higgins had sent the tiger to Rainforest District for SWAT patrol, so asking him would have to wait.

With nothing else to ask about at present, Nick left for his parking duty for the day. He glanced at Ben before heading out, noting that the buffalo was sullen, even to the point of losing appetite if that closed box of donuts was any indication. Nick reflexively walked up to Ben.

"Uh, Bogo, you ok?"

"Oh, hey, Wilde," again came the forced smile. Nick worried if he instead stressed Ben out.

"Uhm, I've heard about Chief..."

Nick wasn't sure what to say to lift Ben's mood. Maybe he really shouldn't have asked Ben.

"It's ok, Wilde. Chief's gonnabe ok. He's Chief, eh heh."

 _Yeah, that's true._

"Ok, then, I'll be off," Nick waved to Ben, "Oh and, just give, I dunno, give someone of us a holler if you need it, ok?"

"Yup!"

Nick didn't know why he had to say something so generic. Ben probably wouldn't cheer up unless he saw Chief back at the precinct.

* * *

After the rather uneventful parking duty the entire day, Nick balked when he returned to HQ to see Ben looking as depressed as he was this morning when he left for work. That box of donuts Nick saw this morning still appeared closed, as though Ben hadn't eaten any.

"Uh, Ben, are you unwell today?"

"Ah! Oh, Wilde."

This was unlike Ben to be so unfocused that he was startled by someone walking in from the front door.

"Sorry, Ben- I mean, sorry if I startle you."

"Ah, no, that's ok, Wilde."

This time, the smile Ben put up wasn't good enough to mask his gloom. The buffalo then opened the box of donuts, and Nick saw only two had been eaten. Or maybe taken; Nick wouldn't be surprised if the buffalo really did lose his appetite.

"Sorry for that. Have some, Wilde."

Nick took his time to deliberate on Ben's offer. He then decided.

"Thanks. I'll have one, but let's eat donuts together."

That seemed to catch Ben off-guard. A sniff later, he took one donut for himself, and the two started munching.

"Thanks, Nick, I mean, Wilde."

"That's ok, Bogo-"

"Without Chief around, there's no one to call me Ben."

Nick realized he never really gave thought about the relationship between Chief Clawhauser and Ben. Figurative father-and-son, perhaps?

"Ah, what am I saying," Ben giggled, but his cheer abated abruptly, "Chief still hasn't come back."

 _Well, if they really were figurative father-and-son, Chief's absence would explain much about Ben's somberness_. Nick hadn't even figured what to say when Ben continued.

"But that's ok, though. He's Chief. I'm sure he'll be fine."

The way Ben said it was contrary to what he spoke.

"Yeah, we'll see him back here soon."

Nick actually didn't put much hope in his words either, but seeing the bubbly buffalo in low spirits like this pained him.

"Anyway, Wilde, you're done for the day, right?" Ben changed the topic before finishing his donut.

"Yeah," Nick nodded, his donut was still half-bitten.

"Then have a sweet dream later, k?"

"Sure."

* * *

Half an hour later, Nick reached chief's office. He had been trying to find Higgins thinking about asking around about Chief, and he had completely forgotten that if Chief were absent, Higgins should take over in his capacity as deputy chief. So here he was at chief's office, expecting Higgins inside.

"May I come in? It's me, Wilde," Nick asked after a knock.

"Oh, Wilde. Sure, come in."

What Nick saw in chief's office was the standard fare, the chief working on reports on the desk. The only difference, of course, was that it wasn't Chief Clawhauser who was behind the desk.

"What do you want to discuss, Wilde?"

Higgins asked the moment Nick closed the door. The vastly different way Higgins greeted compared to Chief felt so alien Nick choked up temporarily.

"Ah, um, sorry for asking," Nick tried to compose himself as he sat down, "Is there... any news about Chief?"

Higgins' frown suggested that he didn't appreciate that question.

"I heard you were asking around about Clawhauser," Higgins paused, his calm visage discomforting, "I can't say I know full well what happened, but leave this to us for now."

"Um, but, Chief- I mean, Higgins, I'm a cop too-" Nick gagged upon thinking, "Sorry, I- I'm just concerned."

"Wilde, let's just say Clawhauser's disappearance has something to do with the Bismarck raid two days ago."

"... Is that so?" That question just came out on its own.

"Yes. And since I'm sure you haven't dealt with them much, it's best you stay out for now lest you get blindsided by something you don't know."

Nick sighed in defeat. That's quite true. Even his affair with the Koslovs the last time barely count as skimming the mafioso. Saying that he was inexperienced with the gangs wasn't wrong.

"Understood. Sorry for bugging you improperly like this."

"It's fine. Thanks for the concern anyway."

Nick was about to reach the door when he stopped. Higgins took notice.

"Something else troubling you, Wilde?"

"Ah, no, nothing else, sir," Nick sounded half frantic, to which Higgins smiled.

"You talked with Benjamin earlier, didn't you?"

"Eh? Oh, uh, yeah."

Higgins merely nodded. Nick wasn't sure if that's a good thing.

"Thanks for your concern on him as well," Higgins remark made Nick gawk, "In case you're wondering why I said that, there's a smear of glaze on your right."

Nick chuckled as he sheepishly wiped his muzzle where Higgins pointed. Nick then recalled what he was thinking while walking out.

"Um, sorry if I'm being too nosy here, but about Chief and Bogo..."

Higgins' amused expression bade Nick to blurt out his guess.

"Just, uh, wondering if they're perhaps... family?"

Higgins leaned back as if drifting into memory.

"No."

"Ah, ok, haha," Nick chortled nervously.

"You probably haven't heard, Wilde. Benjamin's grandfather was the chief back when Clawhauser and I were rookies," Higgins then sat back upright, "Let's just say that, in a way, Clawhauser respected ol' Chief Bogo the same way Benjamin respects Clawhauser now."

"Ah, I see," Nick nodded.

Higgins then raised an eyebrow, and Nick saluted to indicate that he had no more questions.

"Good evening, Higgins."

"Have a good rest, Wilde."

* * *

Nick was lounging in bed, having nothing else to do after dinner with his mom and a few works he had finished. While waiting for sleep to come, he decided to text Ben.

"Yo, Ben, still working?"

The reply didn't come soon. Nick looked at the clock. 11:41. He wondered why he himself also hadn't been sleeping this late.

"Just got out, Nick. Someone called 911 saying a bear went crazy after beer."

"Drunk driver?"

"No. Bar patron."

"Oh."

"McHorn and Wolford went there but found no one strangely."

"Huh?"

"Probably fled."

"Ah, true."

Nick pondered if the missing mammal cases as well as Chief's disappearance had made him more anxious than what he would be comfortable with.

"Anyway, you're not sleeping?"

"Soon I guess."

"Ok, have sweet dreams. Like donuts."

 _Would a dream about donuts really be that sweet?_ Nick chuckled. _Nevermind._ He was beginning to feel tired, which was good.


	17. Chapter 17: A Bunny's Problem

Judy just woke up this morning when her phone rang. The name she saw on the screen irked her.

"Yeah, Ellie, what? ... Oh, yeah, yeah, I can tell ... Don't sorry me with another excuse ... Look, if you're totally ok with suddenly just leaving me high and dry without a good reason, then ciao. Thanks for your help, it was good business."

Judy threw herself back to her bed.

Yeah, that elephant was helpful in her pawpsicle scheme, but after a few straight days of suddenly just saying that she had something to do and couldn't help without explaining properly what it was that tied her up, Judy had decided the pawpsicle scheme was over and that elephant could get herself a million Jumbo Pops for herself. As if she cared.

Judy then remembered she still had those permits for selling pawpsicle with her. Maybe she should tear them up so as not to be reminded of that stupid elephant.

"Why are you shouting in the morning?"

Judy frowned. That was Bucky, one of her two neighbors right next door. Or should she say, right next wall.

"Oh, come on, Bucky, you're the one who's still asleep at 8!"

And that was Pronk, the other one.

"So what? I'm still sleepy."

"Yeah, that's what you get for staying up until 2."

"Oh, shut up will ya?"

"No, _you_ shut up!"

Another ring. Judy balked when she saw the number. She never saved the number in her phone, but she knew the sequence full well. She reluctantly answered the call, at the same time walking away from Bucky and Pronk's bickering.

"Hello, Jude the dude!"

That bunny on the other side had always been so loud. Sometimes Judy wondered how a bunny could be louder than an elephant.

"Morning, dad."

"Stu, I told you not to call her that. What if she's not in the mood for jokes?"

"And morning to you too, mom."

Judy then realized that she herself had raised her voice in anticipation that her mom was too far from the phone. Maybe it was her family's trait to be so loud.

"Oh, come on, Bonnie, what's wrong with a few jokes now and then?"

"Sweetie, Judy, don't listen to that. You sound tired... are you?"

"Aaaw, no, mom, just woke up, that's all," Judy made a show of rubbing her eyes.

"Okay-"

"So how's city life for you?"

Judy groaned silently upon hearing that same old question.

"So far so... manageable, dad."

"Are you ok, sweetie? That sounds bad."

"No no no, all under control, ha ha."

 _Yeah, right, Judy, what's under control here?_

"Still no news from the police academy?"

Judy wasn't sure if she should reply that, until her mom asked about the silence.

"Just... just wait and see, mom, I will be a cop someday."

"What did they say to you the last time?"

"... They already got enough cadets that time."

 _Actually that wasn't the reason._

"Really? So I guess you just went in at the wrong time?" Bonnie pressed.

"And not because they don't think bunnies can be cops?"

Judy still remembered what the police academy office told her the last time, no, the last few times she tried to enroll. "We don't admit bunnies". Actually that wasn't what they said either. It was more along the lines of "You don't qualify as the kind of cadets we're looking for"; Formal-sounding, but no less condescending.

"Yeah."

"Well..."

"Oh, come on, Stu, can't you show more support?"

"Oh, yeah, ah hah."

Judy had to admit; as much as she never liked being in the Bunnyburrows because it wouldn't make her a cop, her parents remained the two things she always loved about that place.

"So, dad, how are your new business partners doing?"

"Those city sheep?" Stu replied cheerfully, "We're still going great. You know, the usual stuffs; We sell 'em our produce and they process those into some merchandise. Haven't seen them for... two days, though, I think."

"Yeah," Bonnie chimed in, "Can't believe we've been working with them now for two weeks now."

"Three, Bon."

"Right. Why wasn't I counting right?" Judy could totally see her mom shaking her head as if in shame, "Pretty amazing too that they could use some old barn as a makeshift factory and don't blow it up or something."

"Bon, you make it sound like woodstuffs combust spontaneously."

Judy snickered, but she's sometimes still wondering what those city sheep wanted by partnering with her parents.

"Anyway, Judy, we gotta go. The farm's calling."

"Mom, I never knew you're so cheesy."

The parents and daughter imparted a few more farewell words before hanging up. Judy didn't realize immediately that talking to her parents felt so invigorating.

"Finally!"

Bucky could be heard sighing in relief. Judy knew he certainly wouldn't appreciate her talking loudly for another minute, though the feeling was mutual most of the time anyway.

* * *

Working at a diner certainly felt very different from selling pawpsicle despite the end result being the same: serving food. Judy counted that the money she got from this work so far didn't compare with how much she raked in from the pawpsicle scheme, but at least this kind of job looked pretty stable.

Still, sometimes when she thought about it, she couldn't wrap her head around why someone like Finnick took note of her predicament and decided to threw a support to her. He only said he'd seen plenty. What plenty?

Judy decided to clock out early due to her mind becoming unfocused as the morning went on.

Judy harked back back to her first days in Zootopia. She remembered she left with half a blessing from her parents because they weren't convinced she could become a cop, and maybe also because of her insistence that she didn't want to be just a carrot-farming bunny. As if to prove them right, the academy rejected her application. But she chose to press on, living in the city in the meantime, taking her many chances to get into the academy and become a cop. Eventually her enthusiasm and optimism ran dry, as did her money.

That was what eventually got her to meet Finnick.

She didn't know that her landlady, an old armadillo by the name of Ms. Dharma, was actually an acquaintance of the fennec. She only found out that after talking with the old lady during a tea break and she explained her predicament. The next time they had a teatime break, Ms. Dharma brought Finnick along, saying that the fennec was experienced in dealing with mammals who had been in Judy's tight living situation. And that lead to Finnick trying to help get Judy some kind of proper living, as the fennec put it.

Still, although the fennec wasn't overbearing on her, she kept her suspicion on the fennec's motives.

Judy's train of thought was disturbed by a familiar voice.

"Hi, Judy!"

Judy saw Dawn jogging towards her. For some reason Judy found Dawn's hair bobbing hilarious.

"Hi, Dawn!" Judy and Dawn then hugged.

"You look so down, Judy, what's wrong?" Dawn asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"Ah, well, not- well, just thinking about a few things in mind."

"Ooh, what's it about?"

"Oh, shut up-"

Dawn turned around to see where Judy was looking. A fox cop could be seen walking towards a diner across the road. Judy's heavy huff and slight shuffle got Dawn's attention.

"You have a problem with that fox cop?"

"Let's just say, yeah," Judy kept her frown even after Nick got in, though then she reckoned he didn't seem to notice to her.

"Omigosh, did he do something to you?"

"Nothing of the sort, if that's what you're thinking."

Judy then explained her encounter last night with a jackal who pickpocketed a zebra some time before, and that Nick stopped her from handling the hyena on account that the hyena hadn't stolen anything this time.

"Can't you believe that the fuzzball cop bought the hyena's words?"

"Ah, Judy... I guess you've just come to know the harsh truth of the city," Dawn sighed.

"Which is?"

"Predators only watch over fellow predators, leaving us preys to watch over ourselves."

Judy wasn't sure what to think of it. That might be true; Nick probably would be harsher to the hyena if that hyena were another species, prey that is. But that flew in the face of Finnick, a predator who somehow thought it good to help her. Then again, there might be hidden motives. Which was why she was often reluctant to accept his help; Why else would she take the chance of running the pawpsicle scheme when he offered her a steady job?

"So, what are you doing now, Judy?"

"Oh, see that diner?" Judy pointed at the diner she came out from, "I'm working there now."

"Huh, I thought you're selling pawpsicles?"

"Yeah, remember that Ellie?"

"What about her?"

"Three, or was it four, days in a row she had called off helping me with the pawpsicles," Judy growled, "So I'm calling it quits with her."

Dawn gasped. Judy then realized what she just said.

"Sorry, that's probably too harsh of me," Judy took a deep breath, "I guess she never showed her incompetence to you?"

"Ah, no, I should apologize also. I didn't know she suddenly just abandoned you like that-"

Before Judy replied, Dawn suddenly looked at her pocket and pulled out her phone. Someone was calling her.

"Sorry, important thing-" Dawn sheepishly stepped back as if anticipating Judy's ire, "Yes, sir? ... What, another one? ... Uh..."

Dawn quickly composed herself after the outburst, smiling at Judy as if to apologize for it.

"Ok, ok, sure ... Ok, got it, bye," Dawn then returned to Judy, "Sorry, some... business partner."

Judy merely nodded.

"They seem to harry you somewhere soon."

"Oh, no, they just asked me to go to West Harbor- yeah, later, ha ha."

"See, they harry you until you're nervous like that."

The two laughed before Dawn decided to leave for now. Now alone, Judy decided to start planning the rest of her day.

* * *

Judy didn't know why she suddenly just wanted to go to the coast tonight. Sure, she wasn't planning on working after this sundown and thus she was spare, but she wondered why she felt like going there.

She wondered if that was because she didn't want to see Nick at all in the near future. Which made sense, given that she had always seen Nick in the urban areas. She suddenly wondered where Nick actually lived, having never given a thought if Nick were well-off or just some middle-class fox.

Or maybe she felt like she wanted to chat with Dawn. The sheep did say she was meeting someone at West Harbor, likely for business. But that also piqued Judy's curiosity; Just what kind of business could Dawn be doing late at night? And what kind of place is West Harbor? Just before leaving her apartment, Judy had messaged Dawn, but the sheep hadn't replied.

Judy started her coastal walk from the south, gradually traversing westward. She was awestruck by the scenery, by the lights of offshore boats and ships, by the noises from the harbor. The bustle gradually subsided as Judy stood in the night watching dots of yellow and white adorning the otherwise black vista. Judy was reminded of Bunnyburrows, which barely had any illumination once night fell. Even at its dimmest, Zootopia landscape was still brighter than any part of the Burrows.

Judy eventually came across a West Harbor sign, expecting a large port. But other than an inlet that might have served as a harbor complete with a lone wharf, the place didn't look like it was used for maritime traffic. The entire locale looked more like a suburban downtown, with entertainment spots and F&B establishments directly facing the sea. Judy then headed straight into the slowly-fading throng, interested in how night life was like at this place even as mammals were wrapping up their nights.

As she reached the end of the rows of joints and bars, walking past a few which were closing for the night, she heard a thud from behind her, and hopped sideways just in time to avoid a lumbering caribou being propped up by a brown bear.

"Ah, ah, sorry, bunny," the caribou apologized. He looked rather tipsy.

"Aare you all right, dearie?"

Judy looked alernatingly at the caribou and the bear before nodding with a "Yes". She then saw an antelope behind the two, most likely a waiter based on the apron.

"What's the matter, huh, Rob, Miss Helga?"

"Ooh, Tony," Helga, the bear turned to Tony, the antelope, "Nearly ran over a bunny."

"Ah, geez," Tony facepalmed, "At least I gotta thank you, missy, for sharing some with him."

"Haappy if I was helpful," Helga cheerfully replied, then grimaced when the caribou shifted weight, "Buut seriously, nine?"

"He usually drinks with his friends," Tony explained, "And Erik the bear isn't coming tonight, sick probably."

"Don't forget- hic- Barry."

For some reason, there was sadness in Rob's words. Judy also noticed that Helga looked at him with sympathy and stopped on her tracks.

"Yaa, you said you haven't seen him for a few days."

"Righto, Helen."

"Iit's Helga, dearie," Helga corrected amusedly, but her smile faded quickly as she took a deep breath.

"You said the cops are still looking for him?" Tony asked.

"Yees."

"Oeuh, you gotta- hic- tell them to find Barry soon," Rob sounded almost crying, "Ain't a happy night of beer without him 'r Erik."

Judy wondered if she should stick around and wait for any noteworthy news. She eventually decided against it and walked away, though the conversation still went on.

"Just- ah- drop me at the clock later, Hellie, thanksabunch."

"Ookay, yeah," Helga sounded like she gave up.

"Sorry to have you drag him home when yours is on the opposite side," Tony waved southwards, "I should've brought him myself since I live not far from him, but boss needs me til later."

"Noo problem, dearie, just sort your deal out at your leisure."

Judy then noticed that Helga, who was now carrying Rob, was walking towards the same direction as her. She was bemused when she saw Helga nodding and saluting to her. Was that some kind of apology? Judy then looked forward and saw a road sign. If she were to go straight down this uninteresting path, she would reach Rainforest District. Judy shrugged and turned right into a small lane.

* * *

Judy's trip through the small lane led her to a road. She knew this road, and she knew she could take this road back to her apartment. With silence all over, Judy decided to start walking back.

Suddenly she heard a scream from behind her, from the other end of the lane she just walked along. Unable to make out anything from where she was standing, Judy decided to sprint towards the source.

An antelope was stumbling back past the road sign. And suddenly a bear lunged on all four at the antelope.

 _Haah? What?_

As Judy sped up, she was wondering if she saw things right. And then she saw the bear, indeed on all four, slowly closing in on the antelope, and almost without thinking she caught up and gave the bear a roundhouse at the hind. Something flew out of the bear's pants, and Judy realized something when the bear faced her.

This was Helga, the bear she saw earlier helping the caribou. _What happened?_

The bear turned her full attention to Judy, who saw the antelope, Tony, crawling away.

"Wa- wanna brawl, huh?"

Judy had some experience in fighting mammals bigger than her. But this bear wasn't just big, her behavior was completely different than all other mammals Judy had ever fought before. The way she pounced, and those eyes... Those were definitely not normal, not the least bit civilized, not even sapient. _What the hell just went wrong?_

In between evading the bear's assault and counter-attacking the bear to little effect, Judy realized she was slowly goading the bear away from the antelope. On one hand, that's good, but now, in the middle of the night with nobody in sight, Judy considered it would be best for her to flee.

And in ten seconds she realized that the bear was fast enough to catch up with her. Merely running away wasn't an option.

Judy saw a tree, no, several trees ahead, and she remembered the direction she was going to was Rainforest District. Probably she had gone in. No matter. Judy quickly jumped onto the tree branches and climbed up, nearly slipping down on occasions. Night had never been a bunny's friend. The bear tried to follow suit, but thankfully for Judy the branches were too small for the bear to steadily stand on, and as she slowly made her ascent after Judy, one branch broke off, sending the bear plummeting back to the ground as Judy looked on.

For the next few minutes, Judy looked on the bear, who furiously clawed and walloped the tree she was on, paused for awhile to lumber around before continuing the assault. Judy tried to position herself out of the bear's view at times to no avail; It seemed the bear's sense of smell could accurately tell where she was at any time.

Judy eventually heard a car approaching the scene. Scared as she was at the bear, she decided to take a peek.

A black van, or whatever dark color it was that looked black at night, stopped near the bear, and she turned her attention to it. Someone was about to get out from the passenger's side, but the bear quickly lunged at that mammal, forcing them to shut the door before the bear mauled them. The door on the other side opened to reveal a wolf with gun in hand. The wolf banged the car to attract the bear, and she responded by ramming the van, nearly causing it to topple. The bear eventually moved around the van to confront the wolf and wasted no time to chase after the wolf who tried taking shots at the bear.

While the bear went after the wolf, three more wolves emerged from the van with several weapons. After one missed strike from the bear, one of the wolves fired at her, entangling her in a net. The bear responded by trying to claw her way out, and another wolf fired another net. As the bear struggled, the other two wolves then subdued the bear with tasers. The bear still managed to claw one taser-carrying wolf in the struggle, although eventually she was pacified.

Judy only looked on as the wolves loaded the bear to the van and drove off. After some time of standing still with the van gone, Judy decided to climb down and make her way back, ignoring what she thought was the sound of police sirens approaching the scene.

When Judy reached the road sign where she first saw the bear go crazy, she tripped and almost fell. She looked down to see an object. A wallet. Judy recalled her earlier scuffle. Was this Helga's?

"B-bunny!" Tony saw Judy and ran up to her, "Are you-u ok? I called th-the... cops..."

Tony only saw Judy gawking, petrified at what she saw in Helga's wallet.

* * *

 ** _#####_**

 ** _#####_**

 ** _Author's Note:_**

 **So this chapter was where I managed to reach before I uploaded it right on Zootopia's 1st anniversary. Still sore about not completing it in time, but ah, well.**


	18. Chapter 18: Faithless

The atmosphere in the bullpen this morning felt eeriely similar to yesterday, much to Nick's discomfort. He was already uncomfortable seeing Ben still downcast, which meant that Chief Clawhauser was still absent, but another day of seeing the normally-boisterous officers on edge just screamed trouble. A distraught Johnson had come back to work, and his entrance was followed immediately by Higgins.

As Higgins distributed assignments, Nick looked at the map and found Chief's photo tagged to Haymarket area. Of all victims, Nick pondered. Speaking of Chief, Nick peeked at Johnson and Jackson. Jackson looked tense, but at least in a better shape than a very morose Johnson. Reminded Nick of Ben.

Eventually Nick got assigned to traffic enforcement. Just before he left the bullpen, he noticed Trunkaby talking to Higgins.

"Just wondering Higgins, is Bjornsdotter sick today?"

"She never told me so," Higgins huffed, then noticed Nick still in the room, "Something wrong, Wilde?"

"Ah, uh, nothing, I'll be off soon," Nick slowly walked away. Too slowly, that is.

"Don't scare him like that, Higgins," Trunkaby joked, though she sounded concerned, "Anyway, I called her this morning to have breakfast together, but she didn't reply."

"I see. Let me see if I can call her later."

That piqued Nick's concern. The air surrounding Bjornsdotter's absence today somehow reminded him of Johnson's yesterday. Though given that Johnson had returned now, probably there was nothing to worry about.

* * *

Nick's patrol that morning was nothing out of the ordinary, and he disliked the dreariness on account of what happened at ZPD. At least a lively morning would have taken his mind off the fact that he was yet to be offered the chance to help the big guys deal with the big cases. Like Chief's disappearance. At the same time, Nick asked himself how much he could help anyway.

Speaking of Chief, Nick remembered about Johnson. The lion had been assigned SWAT duty at Rainforest, like Jackson yesterday and today. Again, asking either feline would have to wait. Nick chided himself on why he didn't try to catch them before they left for duty, but then he remembered he was distracted by Trunkaby's mention about Bjornsdotter, losing those seconds to catch them.

Nick then caught sight of Judy walking across the road. He was about to shrug it off when he noticed she was carrying something. At first it looked like a folder bag or something, but on a second look he realized it seemed to be a wallet. One which was obviously too big for her. Nick could only frown upon imagining whom Judy had beaten up this time.

Nick's only solace was that Judy didn't bolt off as soon as he drove over to her despite her noticing that a cop was approaching her.

"Oh, you," came Judy's snide greeting when she saw Nick alight.

"If it isn't Officer Hopps dispensing justice yet again," Nick retorted, to which Judy chortled.

"Busy hunting me down, huh?"

"Kind of," Nick shook his head and sighed upon confirming Judy was really carrying a large wallet, "Who had you beaten up this time?"

"Oh, if only you knew-"

"Was that a _jest_?"

Nick's raised voice alarmed Judy. He seemed to be in the verge of exploding. As Nick approached Judy, she realized she had never considered that he towered over her, and it unnerved her however slightly.

"Can your jokes and just tell me if you have beaten up yet another crook for stealing that wallet."

Judy huffed, and Nick started fighting the urge to just drag her to the cells.

"The bear who owned this wallet attacked me first," Judy answered, not expecting Nick to buy it, "Actually, no, she was trying to maul an antelope, so I stepped in and fended her off."

To Judy's surprise, Nick simmered down, though still appearing hostile.

"So the bear attacked an antelope, and you stopped her and took her wallet as a trophy?" Nick thumped his foot a bit before continuing, "First you knock crooks out cold, now you also rob them blind?"

"She won't realize she has lost her wallet anyway."

Judy realized that Nick was about to boil over. She tried to recall what she just said.

"Are you really saying that now not only you beat up crooks, you steal their stuffs too?"

"She dropped it in the-"

"What do you mean, she dropped it?"

"No, wait, I mean it just fell off her when we fought- okay, I don't think I can call that a fight when she's trying to kill me."

That managed to soothe Nick just a teensy bit, a slight reprieve for Judy. Nick then put his paws on his waist before continuing.

"Fine. So that bear attacked an antelope, then you, and when you fought her she dropped her wallet. Is that what you mean?"

Judy had to admit she didn't expect Nick would buy it as she replied with a mere "Uh, yeah".

"Okay, so why are you carrying that wallet now? I'm going to say I'm skeptical that you're going to return it to the bear."

Judy giggled before dropping her smile with, "I don't even know where she is right now."

"... What do you mean?"

"Uh, what can I say, some wolves took her away in a van?"

Nick gaped. _One possible clue about the missing mammals!_

"Okay, Judy," Nick continued with a smile that befuddled Judy, "I'll have to take that wallet."

"Eh, what? Wait, why?"

"Well, how do I put this... This seems like a kidnapping case, so at least I want that wallet in ZPD's custody for us to record the case," Nick replied beaming, which confused Judy even more, "And speaking of which, where were you when the bear attacked that antelope?"

"Uh, West Harbor? Some bar probably a mile away from Rainforest District?"

"Well, at least you remembered the overall district," Nick's continued, still smiling, "All right, please, Judy. You can either give me the wallet or come with me to testify for this kidnapping case. That would be a great help."

"Wait, hang on," Judy grew defensive, which irked Nick, "How can you not know?"

"... What do you mean?"

"Ne-nevermind, you won't be helpful in dealing with that crazy bear anyway. I think it's better I report this to the mayor."

"Wait, wait, Judy, hold on," Nick tried to find the right questions, "Who is this bear anyway and why are you trying to not tell ZPD about her?"

Judy mulled over her options in face of a simmering Nick. Was it something that she said? Should she trust the cops this once?

"You... you're not going to punish this bear, anyway, am I right?"

" _Just_. Skip your blathers and show me who this bear is!"

"Fine."

Judy tossed the wallet at Nick. In a split second she felt she might regret her decision, especially when Nick became petrified upon opening the wallet.

"She... did _that_?"

"Yeah. Though considering who she is, my friend recommended going straight to the mayor to report it."

"Judy."

Nick choked up. Judy started guessing whatever cliche he might be saying soon.

"I know you think I won't believe that Bjornsdotter would commit such a thing."

 _That's one cliche._

"But a crime is still a crime. Once we get her, she will have to answer for this."

"Really? Because considering that now she's kidnapped, as you say it, she's now a victim, not a suspect."

"What can I say to make you believe that ZPD will discipline any of its errant officers?"

"Well, they didn't fire you after that weasel fiasco."

Judy considered it a win that she managed to shoot back at Nick such that he couldn't retaliate.

"Fine, you take back that wallet. I'm still going to the mayor to lodge a complaint about an errant ZPD officer."

"... Judy."

Judy stopped in her tracks and was confounded when Nick wasn't making a move to apprehend her or something. _Whoopsie, did I hit him too hard there?_

"A few more things..."

"What?" Judy crossed her arms in response.

"Anything else you know about those wolves? Or why Bjornsdotter just attacked a civilian?"

"No idea. She was just hanging out with some sods for beer, and the next time I saw her she was on all four, trying to maul the antelope. As for the wolves, no idea, I thought they were undercover cops or something, I dunno, ha ha."

"Wait, hold on," Nick perkep up, "On all four?"

Judy nodded as she wondered why that phrase was so important. As Nick stood frozen, Judy decided to leave.

"Judy."

Judy turned to face Nick although she was still inching away from him.

"Good work for saving that antelope, and thanks for the information."

Now Judy choked up. _What's with this... flattery all of a sudden?_ She stood dumbstruck as Nick went in his cruiser and drove off.

* * *

Nick couldn't understand.

Bjornsdotter attacking a civilian? Why? Because of beer?

Nick stopped not far from where he talked with Judy earlier, looking at the wallet he got from Judy. There was nothing in that wallet that could say it didn't belong to Bjornsdotter. If the news of him disrupting traffic and accidentally hurting a civilian already made a ruckus, Nick could only imagine the uproar if they heard a police officer deliberately attacking a civilian.

 _Well, they didn't fire you after that weasel fiasco._

Nick had wanted to refute Judy's accusation, but in retrospect he believed his rebuttals would have been futile. Sure, he got relegated to record duty, but he still remained at the force, and the relegation was temporary. Knowing Judy, she would have considered that to be nothing but a reprimand, not even a punishment.

Nick then snapped back to Bjornsdotter's case. The incoming uproar aside, it was obvious Higgins must know about this.

"This is Officer Wilde to dispatch," Nick called Ben while driving back to HQ.

"Eh, hi, Wilde, what's the matter?"

"Please tell Higgins I'm going back ASAP and I want to talk to him."

"Uh, okay, I'll tell him."

"Something wrong, Bogo?" Nick immediately suspected something happened based on Ben's words.

"City Hall called Higgins earlier, and he's now preparing for a press conference."

 _Crap. Had the news reached the higher ups?_

"If this is about an officer attacking a civilian, I have info that I have to tell him."

"What?"

Nick didn't quite expect that from Ben.

"Okay, Wilde, hang on," Ben left the conversation for a while, "I told him. He said he wants you to come-"

"On my way, thanks, Bogo."

Nick planned to apologize later to Ben for cutting him off like that, but he really wanted to get to HQ before the press.

* * *

Ben certainly wasn't expecting Nick to barge into HQ in haste like this.

"Sorry, Bogo, where's Higgins?"

"Still in the chief's office," Ben replied, and he noticed Nick carrying a wallet that would have been too big for him, "Um, whose-"

"Thanks, Ben, and sorry, no time to explain," Nick quickly cut off Ben, this time in a hushed tone when he realized there were a few mammals at the lobby, probably reporters due to their name tags. Nick guessed his scurry probably would make news, but he didn't care right now.

Nick was glad that Higgins was outside waiting for him when he reached chief's office.

"Bogo said you're coming," Higgins opened as he bade Nick in, "What's the problem?"

"It's about Bjornsdotter."

As soon as the door shut behind them, Nick waved Bjornsdotter's wallet in one paw and the recorder he turned on earlier when talking with Judy. He quickly explained his conversation with Judy about Bjornsdotter earlier, at the same time submitting the recorder to Higgins.

"And one more thing, Higgins," Nick remembered something important, "That bunny told me that Bjornsdotter went down on all four."

"Why... is that significant?" Higgins clearly was bemused by that information.

"That Koslov's jaguar I talked with some time ago said that Otterton also went on all four before attacking him."

Higgins could only nod. He indeed had read Clawhauser's notes about Nick's meeting with that jaguar, and Nick did mention about the Otterton's attack on the jaguar. In other words, the second of such case.

"Good work, Wilde," Higgins praised Nick, though the fox apparently derived little joy from it.

"What... what's going to happen now, Higgins? I heard the City Hall knew about this."

"I'll handle this myself, Wilde. You go back focus to your work."

Nick quickly nodded, although he then thought if he accepted that too quickly. He thought of leaving soon when he saw Higgins pensive, but the hippo then stopped him.

"Just saying, Wilde... Given the situation right now, don't talk to the media about this at all. In fact, as I've told Bogo, I want any journalist who want to inquire about this to talk to me directly, so explain to them as such if ever they interrogate you."

"Yes, sir!"

When was the last time he gave such an affirmative salute, Nick wondered?

"Good," Higgins smiled, but he certainly looked troubled, "At least, do your best to rebuff them. I want to deal with them personally."

"Yes, sir!"

Nick himself certainly hoped he didn't have to answer the media as he made his way back to his cruiser. Of course, that kind of thinking was exactly what might have drawn a few reporters at the lobby to come at him.

"Excuse me, officer," a ram reporter approached Nick, who slowed down but still walking out, "Is that true one of your coworkers had assaulted a civilian?"

"What? No, I'm sorry, I've heard none of it."

"Is Ms. Helga at ZPD now?" a pig reporter shot the next question.

"I've been outside all morning, Miss, and I haven't seen any Ms. Helga."

"Did you come to see your chief just now?" the ram pressed the question.

"The chief is not-"

Nick choked up. Chief Clawhauser had been missing for some time. What should he say about it?

"Look, I'm sorry, but," Nick decided to hastily escape the press, "I have some work to do. My superior would be more than happy to provide you all the details, thank you, good day."

Nick quickly bolted out after he got away from the reporters, although he still overheard a few complaining from them. Nick sighed. This was not his idea of being famous. He then shook his head and drove off, anxious to see the rest of the day unfold.


	19. Chapter 19: Headline News

Leo had never felt this harried before.

There was just another case of a savage mammal last night, and she had been quarantined with less fuss compared to Clawhauser the last time. But with more and more predators going savage, he could only harken back to what Dr. Madge said. That predator's savagery might have been caused by biology.

He kept hoping it to be untrue.

"Good morning, Mr. Lionheart," Ms. Daria's greeting was devoid of anything that would make Leo feel any better. Not her fault; She's a mere receptionist.

"Ah, good morning, Ms. Daria," Leo replied with the best smile he could muster this morning. For some reason he thought over about his greeting. Was he feeling angry when replying her? Was he upset? Could he have suddenly _snapped_ and gone savage if the greeting was just a little less cordial?

Leo read his phone while going to his office, sharing the lift with Mayor Bellwether. The sheep was as aloof as ever, sparing only a glance at Leo, something that the lion was somehow thankful for if just for a few seconds. His mind was choked with enough anxiety already.

As soon as he got into his office, Leo threw his jacket over his chair and began preparing for his work. It was a minute after he turned on the aircon that he realized something was wrong; It wasn't as cold as he remembered it to be. After rubbing his face in exasperation, he called Icekin office.

"Good morning, Icekin Inc.? ... This is Leodore Lionheart from the City Hall ... I want to report aircon failure ... Yes, your staff Mr. Woolter and the other one, what's his name again?"

Leo sighed in frustration when he ended up having to wait for fifteen minutes or so before Woolter picked up the phone. Time that would have been better spent at work.

"Hello, Mr. Woolter ... It's about your work yesterday with your colleague ... Ramon, yes, yes ... See, Mr. Woolter, the aircon is acting up again ... Well, yes, you did say your whole-day maintenance yesterday was done, but look, something is still wrong here ... No, someone has to come today to check again, or I'll go check with your manager to ... Noon? Fine ... All right, good morning."

Leo couldn't believe what he had heard. _Why were these servicemen only got serious with work when he threatened to talk to their manager?_ Maybe he should just call the manager anyway, but right now he had much work to do.

* * *

Leo had just taken a short break from work and was on his way back to his office when he saw an unusual sight downstairs. An antelope was talking to Mayor Bellwether, although it seemed that they had been talking for some time as the antelope left the building. Leo knew he had never seen that antelope at City Hall before. Civilian? If so, what was he discussing with the mayor? Leo decided to keep the question to himself for now.

Almost an hour later, Leo heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

A female ibex peeked into the office, but Leo quickly realized the ibex was carrying quite a load, so he came up to and helped her.

"So sorry, Mr. Lionheart," the ibex flustered, but also appeared grateful, "these are from Mayor."

"Goodness, Ms. Clovin," Leo helped put the loads the ibex was carrying on his desk, "Is Mayor going out again?"

"Uh, not really, actually, thank you."

"Then," Leo recognized some of the documents, the kind to be handled by the mayor, "Uh. Fine, tell him I want to talk to him about this later."

"I'm not sure how soon he will be available, sir."

 _Oh, now what?_ Leo only raised an eyebrow, feeling rather drained after everything that had happened this morning.

"He will be going to ZPD for a press conference."

"Eh, what?" Leo then realized he had raised his voice a bit too much, "I mean, what for?"

"He didn't tell me, sir."

Leo's mind was buzzing. Mayor Bellwether would be holding a press conference involving ZPD. Was this about Clawhauser? _Had anyone found out?_ A few seconds of pacing around later, he looked back at Ms. Clovin the ibex clerk.

"Thank you for your info, anyway, you can go back to whatever you're working."

"Then excuse me, Mr. Lionheart."

Once he was all alone by himself, Leo immediately called Dr. Madge.

"Doctor, it's me ... Please ask Larry if there's anyone who had found out about the asylum ... No, I'm just suspecting someone had begun probing about Clawhauser's disappearance ... You know, he's the police chief ... Oh, yes, please tell him he can speak to me directly later if this offends him ... I know, but who knows? ... Good, bye."

It was as what Leo said. He believed the wolf squad he hired was competent enough to cover their tracks, especially given that the asylum was rarely ever accessed by anyone at all. Still, he dreaded the possibility someone had found out.

* * *

Thomas perused the dockets in his hoof at the conference room. A few reporters had been waiting there, and he had known they were all itching to ask about Bjornsdotter.

He still couldn't wrap his head around the case, especially after Wilde filled him in with the bunny civilian's account. It just wasn't like Bjornsdotter to just go rabid and attack anyone. Still, in addition to Wilde's report, there was also another civilian who had reported to Mayor Bellwether that a police officer named Helga had suddenly gone crazy and attacked him, at least that was what the mayor told him earlier. Either of the two civilians could have also posted it in social media, which was why there were reporters at ZPD now, with the mayor to be arriving any time now.

Thomas resented that nobody reported to the police first. Then again, he reckoned some of the populace would think that telling the cops that one of their numbers just went nuts didn't make sense.

Especially when he recalled about Frank.

Who knew that when Jackson reported about a savage cheetah case at Haymarket, he was referring to Frank? Thomas had even contemplated telling Jackson and Johnson not to share the case with the rest, especially considering how shaken the lion was to the point of taking a sick leave yesterday, citing mental exhaustion. Only Delgato's team, who answered Jackson's distress call, also knew about Frank, and Thomas would try to keep that number to a minimum. Having too many officers knew what happened to Frank would crush morale, at best.

But now with a second officer suffering the same fate as Frank, Thomas was left dumbfounded as to what to do.

Thomas shook his head. For now, he would focus on getting through this press conference. And as if on cue, Trunkaby notified him of Mayor's arrival.

* * *

Thomas was at the podium, with Mayor Bellwether beside him as if evaluating his response to the press. The reporters had been asking him questions he'd rather never hear, especially in this mood.

"Is it true that a police officer attacked a civilian?" a yellow jaguar reporter asked.

"I have yet to receive direct report from either my officers or witnesses about this, but ZPD does not tolerate act of wanton violence by its numbers. Rest assured I will investigate this matter and hand out disciplinary actions, even punishment, to any officer responsible for such."

"But the victim had named Ms. Helga as the assailant," a pig reporter asked.

"We are investigating this matter, and if this Ms. Helga who assaulted the mammal is our officer, we'll deal with her."

"Excuse me, but I heard one of two witnesses said she was stopped on her way to report the case by one of your officers. Is that correct?" a ram reporter asked.

"That, the civilian did claim she was a witness," Thomas paused for a while, "thus my officer stopped her to get testimony. I only heard from that officer that the civilian didn't plan to go to ZPD to report despite the fact that she would have helped the case."

"But if there are several witnesses about this case already, why is ZPD still doubtful that an officer had committed assault?" the jaguar asked again.

"ZPD will discipline its errant officers in that case. However, I seek your understanding that we need to gather all parties involved and obtain the complete information so that we can solve this case correctly and decisively."

"Excuse me, but why isn't the chief answering this?" the pig asked again.

"Chief Clawhauser is currently away, but you may speak to me regarding anything you would have wanted to ask him."

After what felt like forever, Thomas stepped down the podium as the reporters split between interrogating him and the mayor. The questions Thomas got were generally repeats of what he had heard just earlier, which he admitted helped him eavesdrop on what the reporters were asking the mayor.

"As mayor, I certainly do not condone this act of violence by a police officer. I will have the chief know."

 _How normal._

"That, I will look into it. The public may feedback to me about how to improve ZPD considering this situation."

 _Well, sure, if your ideas are any good, I'm all ears._

After another forever, if that was somehow possible, the press left the building, and Mayor Bellwether came up to Thomas.

"You better get that errant cop arrested in due time, Mr. Higgins."

"Of course, Mayor."

"And where's Clawhauser, anyway? I thought he's the chief here, shouldn't he answer for all this?"

"I think he's tied up with a case outside at the moment," and those words burned Thomas in the inside as he spoke it.

"Oh, really? First, there's a case of a chomper cop attacking a civilian, and now you tell me your chief just turned tail?"

"Excuse me," Thomas cleared his throat, "but with due respect, Mr. Mayor, Frank Clawhauser is not what you think he is. I can assure you ZPD is not so incompetent as to be led by a coward."

"Fine."

Mayor Bellwether was about to leave when he turned back towards Thomas.

"By the way, I only heard from my receptionist, but your chief weren't willing to talk to me some time ago."

"I'm sure he was earnestly looking for you, sir," Thomas remembered about Frank's fruitless visit to City Hall which prompted the cheetah to head straight to the hospital.

"He could have made an appointment first," Mayor Bellwether wheezed and continued before Thomas rebutted, "In the end he only spoke to Lionheart and I wasn't informed about what they discussed."

Right. Frank did say that he could only speak to Deputy Mayor Lionheart who also divulged barely anything of use.

"Chief only informed me that he needed to talk to you, but was unable to due to time constraint. Once he has the time, I'm sure he'll seek you out."

"Humph. Leaving the big guy upstairs in the dark-"

The mayor then realized someone was calling him.

"What is it? ... Uh, you're calling at the wrong time, I'm busy- ... Tonight, yes, that works ... Tujunga? No ... Yes, that's better ... Okay, bye."

Mayor Bellwether turned back to Thomas and grumbled, "Whatever. I expect good news from you."

Thomas merely nodded, and after the sheep left, the hippo then headed back to the chief's office to ponder about the situation of Frank and Bjornsdotter.

First, about Frank. He left for City Hall to investigate about the cougar who apparently was taken by City Hall staff, only to find that Lionheart had no clue about it. Then Frank went to the hospital to check on the security cam footages and found that some unidentified wolves had taken the cougar away. Thomas had probed on the list of staffs at City Hall and so far had found there were no wolves. How was it that the hospital readily let the wolves do their work, which Frank basically described as kidnapping?

And based on what Wilde reported, there were also wolves involved in Bjornsdotter's case. Could they be related? Maybe, given that like the cougar, Bjornsdotter was described as having gone berserk.

Suddenly dread came upon Thomas. _What if those wolves had taken out those mammals, including Frank?_

* * *

"All clear? ... All right, good work ... Yes, thank you- Oh, how's everyone? ... Good to hear ... Ok, bye."

Leo hung up in slight relief. Larry had feedbacked him that as far as the wolves had checked, there had been no breach in terms of the security or secrecy of the asylum. Also, the wolves who were injured from trying to contain Clawhauser had recuperated well enough. Still, he always knew that if this case dragged on without resolution, somebody would find out about all this eventually.

He then remembered about Bellwether's press conference at ZPD. Glancing at the clock, he realized the evening news would play soon. He turned on the TV and waited.

"Good evening, and you are watching ZNN Prime Time Evening. I am Fabienne Growley," the snow leopard made her usual greeting.

"And I am Peter Moosebridge," so did her moose coworker before he let her relay the first news.

"In lieu of ZPD Chief Frank Clawhauser, Deputy Police Chief Thomas Higgins had given his statement regarding the report of a police officer assaulting a civilian at West Harbor yesterday night. Mr. Higgins has stated that ZPD does not tolerate any officer who committed acts of violence towards civilian, and promised to investigate the matter fully and hand out appropriate disciplinary action to the officer guilty of such misconduct. It is understood that the police officer, whom the civilian named as Helga Bjornsdotter, was absent from office today."

Leo gaped. _Another police officer?_ He then quickly called the asylum.

"Doctor? ... It's me ... Get someone to fetch me, I want to check the latest savage."

As Leo hasted outside, he bumped into Mayor Bellwether who was going out.

"Where are you going, Mayor?" came Leo's sudden question.

"Some business. No need to concern yourself with it."

Leo felt he should ask more, but what concerned him more was that the wolf who would pick him up might be arriving soon. He stepped away and decided to message the wolf to come a bit later so as not to cross with Bellwether. While waiting around, Leo noticed that Ms. Daria who was about to clock out for the day, and Mr. Purrton was standing guard as usual. He decided to chat a bit.

"Hello Ms. Daria, how was the day?"

"It's fine, Mr. Lionheart, thank you."

"You're welcome," Leo smiled as he saw Bellwether finally out of the building, "By the way, did Mayor say anything about where he's going tonight?"

"No, sir."

"I see. Just curious, that's all."

Leo then left Ms. Daria to pack up for the day before leaving. This time, Mr. Purrton approached him.

"How are you, Mr. Lionheart?"

"I'm fine. Thank you," Leo was a bit annoyed that he nearly choked up at that.

"You're going home soon, right? Or are you waiting for someone?"

 _Dammit. Waiting in the building would invite too many questions._

"No, I'll be off soon," Leo then walked out, "Thanks for your concern."

Leo decided to leave the building, in the meantime texting the wolf to pick him up somewhere else instead of the City Hall. He was hoping no one noticed him being picked up by essentially strangers.


	20. Chapter 20: Third Time's Unlucky

Nick wasn't sure he should feel glad about the end of the day considering whatever had happened today. What he heard essentially was that Bjornsdotter had gone savage and attacked a civilian. And based on the news, the press had grilled Higgins, who seemed to have given relatively generic answers to the reporters. Nick wondered if he should have been there, or at least if he should record the news for practice the next time he got interrogated by the press.

On his way out after filing his traffic reports, Nick saw Jackson and Johnson talking to Ben. Jackson noticed Nick and beckoned the fox, much to the latter's amusement, an amusement that faded quickly upon seeing a downcast Johnson.

"Hey, Wilde," Jackson began, "You have anything to do later this evening?"

"Er, no, I guess. Likely just go home, have dinner, read the news and then sleep the night away," Nick replied as he put on his jacket.

"You know, you don't have to detail everything."

"Maybe he said that because he wants you to remember the order," Ben chimed in, followed by Jackson's guffaw. That little jest seemed to help Johnson cheer up slightly.

"But anyway, Wilde, I'm thinking of going to this Alpacas restaurant tonight for dinner, and I'm thinking of inviting you along."

"Oh?" Nick certainly wasn't expecting that, "Well, sure, I guess. But let me call my mom first."

"Oh, she's cooked your dinner already?"

"It's ok. She usually cooks anything that still tastes good even as leftovers."

"I don't know why but that kinda sounds weird."

"Actually now I'm interested to know how her cooking tastes like," Ben interjected.

"Well then, should I call her that I'm going with Jackson and Johnson and you're taking over my place at my home?"

"Nah, thanks, I still need to work," Ben concluded after the four laughed it out.

"Ok, then, Wilde, you call your mom while we," Jackson gestured to himself and Johnson, "change attire."

With the two felines out of view, Nick called his mom about Jackson's invitation. Once he's done, he stood by Ben waiting for the two. Nick glanced at Ben and noticed that the buffalo had returned to his sullen look. Which was to be expected, what's with Chief Clawhauser still missing. Missing to the point of joining the ranks of the missing mammals. Nick was unsure what to say, but he thought he probably should chat with Ben, hopefully to lift up his mood however slightly.

"How was your day, Ben?"

"Eh?" Ben didn't seem to expect that, "Oh, ha ha, it's fine. Well, except for those ZNN and ZooTimes reporters barging in to meet Higgins."

"Yeah, I guess that's the highlight of the day."

"Oh, and, Nick, what did they ask you?"

"Oh, that," Nick remembered his attempt at evading the press, "Well, asking about if an officer attacked a civilian, mostly that's all they asked before I zipped."

Ben huffed. Nick began to regret talking considering the situation.

"Um, sorry if that went wrong."

"What, Nick? Oh, no no," Ben's reply jolted Nick, "I mean, we ZPD officers are sworn to protect and serve, so of course if one of us were to break that tenet, the public surely will make fuss about it."

 _Protect and serve_. Nick could clearly hear Chief's voice in those words.

"Still, I'm still hoping that wasn't really Bjornsdotter who did that," Ben turned morose, but briefly, "But hey, I've known her for a while, I know she's not the sort to just go crazy like this. I'm super sure we'll get to sort this out properly and find the real culprit."

Nick took his time comparing Ben's words just now and what he spoke after it was apparent that Chief was missing. The hopefulness Nick just heard was something that was completely absent yesterday. Makes sense, Nick considered. His thought was interrupted by the two felines in t-shirt and jeans walking to them.

"Ok, we're ready," Johnson spoke.

"Just remembered, Wilde," Jackson noticed, "You ain't dressing the part?"

"Eh? Oh, well," Nick rubbed his head, "Habit. I just never have a liking to keeping personal stuffs in the lockers."

The felines exhanged gazes and smiled, and Nick smirked at that.

"Then how about we drop you at your home first? Cypress Grove, was it?" Jackson offered.

"Sure that ain't taking too much time off the fun?" Nick counterargued.

"The Alpacas is down south, and your house is somewhere in the middle," Jackson explained, "And I'm sure we can still make it there at 8 or so."

"If you say so," Nick nodded.

And so Jackson, Johnson and Nick left HQ after waving to Ben. Jackson took the wheel of the cruiser and they departed.

* * *

"Actually I'm a little curious, Jackson," Nick opened a conversation once the three left the fox's house, "It's not everyday I see anyone come back so early from SWAT patrols."

"Sharp, Wilde," Jackson complimented, at the same time looking at Nick's green-shirt-khaki-pants ensemble, "Yeah, this was partially Higgins' idea."

"Oh?"

"It's about the bunny you talked to with regards to Bjornsdotter's case."

"Heh, you sound like you're doing undercover work right now," Nick's response was met with laughter.

"I know right?" Jackson then composed himself, "But yeah, so Higgins had told me to share what we know about Chief in light of that."

"... How do those relate to each other?"

Jackson then spared a glance at Johnson. From the rearview mirror, Nick could see Johnson frowning. The way Jackson glanced at Johnson seemed to hint that the tiger wanted the lion to talk, though in the end he decided to speak out himself.

"Johnson was with Chief during the raid at Bismarck's. There were some captives in there, one of whom was a dying cougar who suddenly went crazy and attacked Chief and Johnson."

Nick gawked.

"The next day, Chief sent me to check on the cougar, hoping that in the event he had recovered, I was to question him about his stay at Bismarck's. But he had been kidnapped by some wolves who claimed they were from City Hall."

 _Wow. Sounds like something straight out of a Jack Savage thriller_ , Nick thought.

"Then, uh..."

The pause felt unnerving.

"Chief went to Haymarket and Bromeliad area since that was the last place those wolves were seen. We weren't able to find them, and Chief had proposed to gather resources for the hunt... Then..."

"Chief just dropped on all four, crazy look in his eyes, and tried to shred us... Like that cougar."

Johnson chimed in, leaving Nick completely speechless.

"Sounds like what the bunny told you earlier, doesn't it?" Jackson continued, "And by the way thanks for the recording. I'm sure that will be helpful in the future in our hunt for clues."

"Uh, yeah- but wait, hang on... Those... they suddenly just went crazy and attacked anyone in sight?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?"

Silence came upon them.

"I think Higgins asked us to share this with you in case that you can gather more information from that bunny. Like, keep an eye on her, given that she's an important witness, like that."

Nick nodded firmly.

"Ok, so we're here."

The three then went in to The Alpacas for their dinner. They spoke nothing of the crazy mammals during the dinner, instead trading playful banters. Based on the banters, Nick had the impression that while the information-sharing was Higgins' idea, the dinner at Alpacas wasn't.

"Thanks, Edwin," Johnson spoke after they finished their dinner.

"That's what friends are for, Bob," Jackson jabbed the lion before he started driving, "And I hope that was good, Wilde."

"Oh, yes, certainly," Nick made a show of licking his muzzle, "First time there, and I gotta say I'm impressed."

"Good to hear," Jackson replied, "Anyway, I gotta drop Johnson home first. No problem, I hope?"

"No problem."

"Thanks, buddy."

 _Heh, buddy. Certainly the first time someone aside from Ben called me that_ , Nick smiled dreamily.

"Anyway, at least we now got a few more info about Chief and Bjornsdotter. Especially since your bunny mentioned that- What is it, Wilde?"

"Ah? Oh," Nick realized Jackson caught him giggling, "Sorry, for some reason, when you said my bunny, I thought you suspected we're dating."

"Just-" Jackson guffawed, "How in the blazes do you interpret it- Ah, you know what, screw that, let me rephrase. Ok, so that bunny spoke about the wolves. Did she describe anything about them?"

"No, but that means I gotta ask her next time I see her."

"Yeah, please do."

They finally reached the apartment complex where Johnson lived. Nick saw that the complex overlooked an open field, with the sea in view not far away and a port within walking distance. Nick imagined those living at the upper floors would have a very nice coastal view.

"Well, that's been a night," Johnson mused before he yawned, much to his companions' amusement.

"Yep. Now what's left is to take a rest, cause we gotta go back to work tomorrow," Jackson continued.

"Agreed," Nick concluded.

"Okay then," Johnson then got in, "Thanks again, be safe on your way back."

"Okay."

Jackson and Nick replied in tandem, watching until the door was shut. The two traded smiles before Nick went to sit at the front passenger seat unlike earlier when they went to The Alpacas. Nick was admiring Johnson's apartment from inside the cruiser when he heard a thud.

"Ugh!"

That grunt alerted Nick that Jackson hadn't even opened the driver's door, and he was alarmed when he didn't see the tiger behind the window.

"Jackson?"

Nick immediately got off the cruiser and found Jackson on his knees, convulsing and panting violently.

"Whoa, there, whoa, Jackson, what-"

The moment Jackson turned to see Nick, the fox could only see a snarling face and hear a primal growl.

 _Down... on all four... a savage!_

 _Was this what the jaguar meant?_ Nick was caught up in that thought that he barely dodged a swipe to his face.

"Wait... Jackson?"

That was all Nick could ask before he had to hightail it as the tiger chased him to the coast. He didn't know what to do, except maybe try to goad the tiger somewhere quiet. Nick knew Jackson was a capable officer, and the tiger's agility in trying to maul him was certainly proof enough.

"Bogo! Bogo! Wilde here!"

"Wilde? Uh, what-"

"Tiger gone savage, south coast- whoa!" Nick dodged the tiger's lunge.

"Wilde?!" Ben's voice started to exude as much distress as Nick.

"South-" Nick saw a sign of a port, "Southern Elm Port!"

"Ok, Wilde, I'm sending backup now!"

Nick's only solace was that with the port being unoccupied at this late hour, he had plenty of options to deal with the tiger, though he quickly discovered those options weren't very helpful. Hiding to ambush the tiger wasn't very useful as he found out the spot quickly. Tumbling crates and barrels probably hurt the tiger a bit, but not enough to slow him down. Nick groaned when thinking that tranquilizer probably could have helped.

But as he considered running back to the cruiser, Nick realized that he wasn't sure if there was any weapon at all in the cruiser given what the three of them went out for. And while the cruiser would've protected him from the tiger, it's being parked in a residential area. In his current situation, Jackson didn't look like he could be at all reasoned with, and any civilian in his way might as well be torn apart.

Nick cringed at that thought.

The tiger lunged again, and Nick sidestepped to reveal that the tiger just plunged straight into a stack of crates. As Nick backed away from the mound of wooden mess, he saw the tiger clawing his way out. All those bruises the tiger got from missing Nick enough times slowly softened him, but based on his stance he was still a danger. Though that aside, Nick really didn't like seeing a fellow officer in such a broken state.

"All right, Jackson," Nick gestured to goad the tiger into attacking him, at the same time wincing at how terribly injured he was, "Relax, slow down, we can settle this peacefully."

Instead of going towards Nick, the tiger looked to his right, to something or someone Nick couldn't see due to a stack of boxes in the way. The tiger then leapt to that direction.

"Wait, wait, no-"

Nick went to check out what or who it was the tiger leapt to, but what he saw prompted him to immediately take cover as he peeked.

Three wolves were encircling the tiger. One wolf apparently had gotten mauled, but in the end they subdued and wrapped the tiger with a net gun, loaded him up into a van, and scooted off westward. Nick then realized that was the same direction as Johnson's house, and without further thinking he headed there, remembering about their cruiser. Johnson was at the door bewildered when Nick reached, though perhaps aware of the wolves' van, or at least the commotion.

"Wilde? What's-"

"They kidnapped Jackson!"

Nick pointed towards the direction of the van as he reached for the driver's seat, and Johnson promptly joined in.

"Johnson and Wilde to dispatch, we have a kidnapping!" Johnson immediately called Ben once Nick and he began their pursuit.

"Ok-"

"Black van, no number, wolves," Nick interjected.

"We're currently at Elm Coast, heading westward!" Johnson continued.

"Ok, Wilde, Johnson, I'll send backup!"

"Tell whoever- whoa!"

Nick swerved right when one wolf started firing at their cruiser.

"-tell those going to port... the tiger is the victim!"

"Ok!"

Nick tried his best to catch up to the van, but in between dodging the wolves' attacks and trailing behind the van, he could tell he was losing. He could only hope a constant communication could at least allow other officers to catch them.

"Johnson! Wilde! Position?"

Neither expected Higgins' voice at the radio.

"We're, um, at Sausten Street, van heading north!" Johnson answered.

"Ok!" Higgins cut off.

Nick could see they were trailing further and further behind the van, but then he saw another cruiser joining them on the chase. Apparently after realizing they had been hunted by more officers, the wolves began to drive more erratically, weaving through junctions to throw the cops off.

"Wilde, Johnson, you go west, I take east," came Krumpanski's voice. _So he was the one in that cruiser_ , Nick thought.

Their chase for the van continued until they entered the Rainforest. Despite being flanked, and eventually outnumbered as more officers came after them, the wolves still managed to avoid capture. Nick silently praised the wolves' skill.

"We're at southern Marshland going east," was just another message Johnson relayed to the team.

"South Marsh-" Higgins paused all of a sudden before continuing, "Rhinowitz, force them to go to Quagmire Lane."

"Roger," Rhinowitz could be heard.

"Wilde, get them if they get there."

"Roger!"

As Higgins planned, Rhinowitz's maneuver caused the wolves to take Quagmire Lane detour. Nick emerged from a west road just in time and ended up slamming the van at the side. With both vehicles losing speed, the officers were able to catch up and bear down on the van.

"Ouch... _that_ was hard," Johnson started asking, having hit his head from the collision.

"Sorry," Nick rubbed his head where he got smacked, chuckling nervously upon realizing that he was mirroring Johnson.

"Ok," Johnson then looked at the cornered van, "Wilde, what do you mean with port and the tiger?"

Nick suddenly froze, and before answering Johnson he leapt off towards the van. The wolves at the front seats had been hauled away by the cops, and Nick quickly made way to the back doors as the cops broke it open, not paying attention to Johnson who ran after him.

"Wait, wait, Wilde," Johnson caught his breath, "Jackson was kidnapped, okay, but why did you say it that way?"

"I, uh..."

Nick kept his eyes at the van as the other wolf, the mauled one, was pulled out of the van. The last mammal in the van was a violent tiger gagged and tangled in net, mindlessly lashing out at any officer who tried to pull him out. And when finally Johnson saw the tiger, and those same eyes, he fell on his knees.

"Edwin?"

The shock that word gave to the officers nearly allowed the tiger to claw Krumpanski, the nearest officer, who then swiftly pinned him down. Nick could only pat Johnson on the shoulder, completely sure that wouldn't be of help.

"Wilde," Andersen walked up to the two officers in plain clothes, "Just... what happened?"

"I... I don't know."

"-so help check the number and let me know who or where that is, thanks."

Rhinowitz could be heard talking before he and the other available officers crowded on Nick, Johnson and Jackson.

"What's going on here?" Rhinowitz inquired, trying to sound as level as he could. In his hoof was a phone in a container bag, clearly not his.

"Um... Jackson... he just... went... crazy... and- and..."

Nick hesitated, but looking at Johnson, he knew the lion wouldn't even be able to speak a coherent line. In the meantime, Snarlov joined Krumpanski in restraining Jackson.

"He just... Jackson... he just went crazy and... tried to attack me- uh, before these wolves take him away."

"Oookay," Rhinowitz was incredulous, "What's your take, Johns-"

" _Please!_ "

Nick interjected, though he knew he might regret speaking out like that to a senior. That, however, seemed to work; Rhinowitz seemed to realize a keening Johnson was in no position to talk.

"What is it, Wilde?"

"He... Johnson... told me... this is the... third... time he saw this... situation."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry... I..."

"No, Wilde, if you mean to say either of you should have said it sooner-"

Rhinowitz was interrupted by a call.

"Higgins? ... You got the address? ... What and where is that place? ... Okay, send it fast, we're going."

Rhinowitz then began issuing orders.

"Delgato, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Andersen, lock up those wolves. Snarlov, Krumpanski, Howliwell, take Jackson back to HQ but put him in a different holding cell for now. Wilde, take Howliwell's cruiser and carry Johnson home, then take your rest. The rest of you, follow me, we're raiding Cliffside Asylum."

Some officers gasped, but Rhinowitz's bellowing soon after quieted them as the officers took to their assigned duties. With Nick and Johnson left in the scene, Nick looked at the lion, who was in tears.

"How?"

Nick wished he could answer that question.

"Come on, Johnson, you've done plenty, time to rest."

At least with Johnson being physically fit unlike that jaguar, carrying him to the cruiser wasn't a tough task. Nick was glad that despite being smaller than the cruiser Johnson drove earlier, Howliwell's cruiser, which he remembered from his first traffic enforcement, was spacious enough to accommodate Johnson.

Nick kept quiet throughout the trek back, fearing that anything he said would only make Johnson's state worse, a sentiment he felt justified to have as the lion didn't budge from the passenger seat after they arrived.

"We're here."

"Oh."

Johnson still hadn't budged. Nick then went to open Johnson's door and beckoned the lion to alight, and he eventually did and walked to the house.

"Thanks... Nick."

Nick stood for a few long minutes after Johnson locked the door. He only hoped that Johnson could at least sleep the night.

On his own way back to his own home, Nick took some time to probe about that Cliffside Asylum. The only important information he gleaned was that it was last used publicly about three years ago, the reason for its abandonment being that with more hospitals and asylums located within city limits, its remoteness had rendered it superfluous. Nick sighed. Such a remote place indeed would have served well for a criminal hideout. Still, sometimes Nick wondered why that building was left standing for so long. He then shook his head; With nothing else to do tonight, he should rest as best as he could as well.

* * *

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 ** _Author's Note:_**

 **First thing first with this being 20th chapter (random milestone is random), thanks guys for the follows and favorites :) Yeah, as some of you did say, I think I'm being slow here, but regardless I'm happy if you're ok with that. I can't promise I will try to speed up or such, but with most of the scenes including the ending already in my head (just need to write em down later), I just need to be able to pen them right so that at least the overall story remains enjoyable. Cheers :)**


	21. Chapter 21: Unraveling

Leo was in a sedan, having just finished his visit to Cliffside Asylum that night to check on the savage bear. Although the news pegged the bear as a police, the wolf squad didn't find any identification on her. Leo was restless; A second police officer going savage wouldn't be a mere bad news.

But the fact that Dr. Madge had told him to cut short his visit to the asylum was no less worrisome.

Leo was told that while capturing the latest mammal to go savage, the wolves caught the cops' attention, and in the midst of updating the asylum that they would have to lose the cops first, the communication was cut off. At this, Dr. Madge deduced that the cops had successfully captured the wolves, and in worst case scenario the ZPD might have picked up the information on the asylum, thus she had urged Leo to flee before the cops came knocking.

But he hadn't even reached Tujunga-Bromeliad highway when he noticed siren lights in the distance, as well as some moving lights in the sky, maybe helicopters.

"Sir, please brace."

Leo realized there was an open field to their right and was horrified upon guessing what his driver, a white wolf, meant.

"Wait, no-"

And the sedan began racing on the field before Leo could fully voice his objection.

"Gary, what are you doing?" Leo chided the wolf.

"Protecting you, sir," Gary, the white wolf replied deadpan.

"What? _No!_ " Leo objected, "I see choppers! You can't hide from them in this open field!"

Gary merely reached for his gun, and Leo choked up, fearing what's going to happen.

"If they catch us, sir," Gary replied calmly as helicopter lights started tracking them, "please say nothing."

Leo only uttered a "Why-" before Gary cut him off, "Part of the job, sir."

That statement and the way the wolf eyed the gun filled Leo with dread.

As the spotlight fell on them, Gary threw one last wistful look to Cliffside Asylum. Soon, a few police vans started chasing the sedan, and with nowhere to hide, Gary and Leo were promptly surrounded.

"This is ZPD, come out and disarm now!"

Leo sighed. He was hoping Gary would have just driven straight onto the police convoy when he first saw the siren lights. That way, he could try talking his way out in case the cops find their presence suspicious. Now, Gary would try to fight off the ZPD with just one gun, and once he's handily trounced, the cops would arrest him, at the same time busting the asylum.

Right as Leo reached for the door handle in resignation, Gary leapt to the backseat, opened the door himself, then shoved Leo outside into the spotlight with the gun aimed at the lion's head.

"No offense, fuzz," Gary began shouting to the cops, "You don't let me leave this place, he's a goner."

Leo stayed quiet. Whether it was because of Gary's request for him to shut up or that the wolf was pointing a weapon right at him, he didn't know.

"Deputy Mayor?"

It was clear the cops could tell who Leo was. After some time, a grey wolf officer gave signal to some of the other officers. Some of the officers, with bewildered look, followed the grey wolf's order to make an escape path for the white wolf.

Gary surveyed his surrounding, at the same time opening the front passenger seat with intention to pull Leo in after he got in to the sedan to get away. He accidentally smacked Leo a bit too hard with the door, causing the lion to tumble forward.

"Sorry."

Gary caught Leo by the arms, and the next thing he knew after he whispered his apology, something sank into his neck. He pulled whatever it was groggily, and before he could pinpoint who shot the tranquilizer dart, another one hit his neck, and he gave way to unconsciousness.

The officers then swarmed Leo, with a few hauling Gary into their cruiser. The grey wolf officer with a tranquilizer gun in hand approached Leo.

"Are you all right, sir?" asked the wolf, his name tag read 'Wolford'.

"Um... yes... yes...," Leo spoke in a hushed tone, unsure what to feel about the entire ordeal.

"Drive him back," Wolford promptly ordered a few officers to take Leo away before calling HQ, "Higgins, we have deputy mayor Lionheart here, probably kidnapped by the same wolves from the asylum."

Throughout the journey back to the city, Leo sorted out what just happened. _Kidnapped? Him?_ Well, it did appear that the cops had yet to know that those wolves were under his command. The main question he had right now was thus the reason why Gary did that.

* * *

Thomas was standing by at the reception desk with Ben. Considering what Wilde reported just earlier, he wanted to have a direct involvement with the squad tonight.

He happened to pass by Ben when he heard the buffalo saying about sending backup. After Ben called Snarlov, Krumpanski and Andersen to go to Southern Elm Port, Thomas decided to stay with Ben to follow what happened. And then Wilde mentioned about black van and wolves.

Thomas' mind was promptly drowned in the memory of Frank's disappearance.

The hippo wasted no time in calling almost the entire ZPD squad at the western half of the city to stop the wolves. After they did so in longer time than he expected ( _who were those wolves?_ ), Rhinowitz called in saying that in one wolf's phone he seized, there's a number- or as the rhino said verbatim, only one number- which he thought belonged to a public facility. And Thomas then discovered that number belonged to Cliffside Asylum.

"You there, Higgins?" Rhinowitz radioed in.

"What's up, Rhinowitz?"

"There are seven- no, eight officers heading back to HQ."

 _That's a lot, isn't?_

"Delgato, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli and Andersen will send in the wolf perps."

"Copy that."

"Krumpanski, Snarlov and Howliwell are bringing in Jackson."

 _Huh?_

"If Jackson is injured, shouldn't he be hospi-" Thomas stopped short upon realizing something, "Hold on, aren't you sending too many to escort Jackson to safety?"

"I don't know why, but Jackson just went crazy, biting and clawing like a madmammal."

Thomas flinched. _Jackson too?_

"Understood. Be safe on your raid."

"Ok."

Thomas could only wait in suspense. He then looked at Ben, and remembered that the buffalo would have heard all those.

"Um, did I hear that right?" Ben's words thick with disbelief.

"...I think so."

"But- but," Ben tried to find words, but gave up, "I see."

"I'll check on him once they're here," was all Thomas could muster.

The officers hauling in the wolves eventually arrived, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary with the imprisoning. Regardless, Thomas felt uneasy about the wolves' garbs, which made him think they were some kind of mercenary or secret service squad. Fangmeyer handed over the phone Rhinowitz managed to snatch from the wolves to Thomas for safekeeping before they headed to the holding cells at the east wing.

"This is Higgins to Rhinowitz," Thomas tried contacting Rhinowitz.

"Yes?"

"The wolf perps are secured. Should the four join you?"

"No need. There's enough of us, and besides, they will be too late."

"Right," Higgins sighed.

"Are the rest there?" Rhinowitz inquired.

Before Thomas answered, he heard a commotion at the front door. Krumpanski entered first, his arms showing a few bite wounds, and he was dragging something- no, carrying something with Snarlov. That something being a barely conscious Jackson, tied and muzzled.

"Just," Thomas almost yelped, before remembering Rhinowitz, "They just arrived."

"Same here. Sorry to say this, but careful about Jackson."

Thomas nodded, merely guessing that Rhinowitz probably saw him do that.

"Had to tranquilize him," Krumpanski spoke regretfully, "I don't know what happened, only that I heard this wasn't the first time."

 _Frank and Bjornsdotter._ Thomas heaved a heavy sigh.

"Put him at the west wing."

Usually the cells at the east wing were utilized first to hold in perps before they filled in the ones at west, but Jackson was definitely not a perp. He was a wild animal, and it would be better to contain him at a more secluded place. Krumpanski, Snarlow and the just-entering Howliwell nodded at Higgins' command. They hadn't moved far when Jackson started thrashing again, forcing Krumpanski and Snarlov to subdue him. After they were all out of sight, Ben threw a question.

"What... happened to Jackson?"

Thomas put his hoof on Ben's shoulder before answering, "I wish I knew."

The intercom beeped. Thomas wondered if that was Rhinowitz.

"This is Wolford to dispatch."

"Copy, Wolford, what's the matter?"

"Higgins, we have deputy mayor Lionheart here, probably kidnapped by the same wolves from the asylum."

"Wait, Lionheart?"

"Yes. We've neutralized the wolf who got him. He should be on his way back now."

"... Is he okay? As in, is he... uh, okay?"

"Lionheart? Yes, he's fine. A bit shocked, but lucid if that's what you mean to ask."

 _That doesn't make sense_ , Thomas thought. Based on previous cases, the wolves seemed to target mammals who had gone berserk. So if Lionheart wasn't acting crazy, why was he taken? Thomas wondered if Lionheart really was a kidnap victim like the others.

"This is Wilde to dispatch."

Thomas raised an eyebrow at that interruption before answering, "Yes, Wilde?"

"Oh, Higgins," the fox seemed tense, "Just wanna report. Rhinowitz told me to get Johnson home. I'm... calling it a night as well."

"Ok, good work, Wilde. Get your rest tonight, we'll manage the rest."

Wilde's report reminded Thomas to Johnson, and he decided to call the lion.

"Johnson?"

"... Higgins?"

"I'm just calling to say that... I give you permission to take a few days off for as long as you see fit to recover."

A silence.

"I'm sorry that it happened again. I'll do my best to find out how to fix it. Take your rest."

"... Thanks."

The lion was absolutely shaken, that much was certain. And who could blame him? The cougar at Bismarck's, Frank himself, now Jackson.

Back to Lionheart. Thomas pondered if he should check the lion, or even any place that lion might have been. For what Wolford said about Lionheart being lucid, he might have lashed out violently somehow at who knows and attracted the wolves' attention. The media would have had a field day if they heard the deputy mayor going crazy.

"Delgato, you done with the locking?" Thomas called Delgato.

"Aye, Higgins."

"I want you and Fangmeyer to head to City Hall now," and Thomas could clearly hear both cats let out a "Huh?", "Deputy Mayor Lionheart was kidnapped by those wolves at the asylum and I would like you to conduct a preliminary check to find clue when and how he got kidnapped. At least we need to find out what's going on with him."

Thomas appreciated the felines' quick response when they reached the lobby in about a minute, and they traded salutes before the two went out.

The quiet minutes spent waiting for news from Rhinowitz made Thomas restless, especially when his mind was clogged with guesses about whatever were going on. He made a quick consideration about sending more squad to Cliffside Asylum, but with the asylum being so far away, not to mention whoever were locked at HQ, he shot down the idea. Too little, too late, like what Rhinowitz mentioned. He spared a glance at Ben, who was no less fidgety.

Then there was a beep.

"Higgins, Rhinowitz here."

"Status report?"

"We managed to nab five wolves, but based on their tracks at least one escaped. There's also one badger medical staff who seemed to be affiliated with the wolves. She's also been secured," then a pause which made Thomas uneasy, "These wolves are unbelievable."

"What about it?"

"I'm currently in the data room. Would you believe that they had tried to destroy all records?"

Thomas tried guessing what Rhinowitz wanted to say as he bade the rhino to continue.

"They shredded all the paper documents and wiped out security cam footage. Some of the computer consoles are fine, but so far I don't see any intact data disks. And the few phones we find inside have been smashed or wiped, so I can't say I can trace their call history," Rhinowitz sighed, a sound between irritation and wonder, "As far as secret operatives go, these guys are astounding."

 _Unbelievable indeed._ Thomas had never heard any criminal being so meticulous in covering their tracks. Not even the Koslovs or the Bismarcks. Or perhaps these wolves were affiliated with them somehow, being the most elite operatives of either?

"Though, strangely," Rhinowitz sounded like he had found something, "I found a note here..."

"Oh, ok, great," Thomas felt a slight relief that gave way to curiosity, "What's strange about it?"

"They pasted it right at the middle of a table. In other words, as though they wanted us to notice."

"I see. What does it say?"

"There are only numbers here."

Thomas furrowed.

"The longest number seems to be a phone number, and the rest might be either coded message or passcodes for something."

"Mind giving me those numbers?"

"Ok," and after a while Thomas received a photo from Rhinowitz. True to what the rhino said, there was a long string of numbers, followed by a list of shorter numbers.

"I got your note."

"Great. So, anyway, we're still scouring the asylum. I'll update you again."

"Good work."

While waiting for Rhinowitz, Thomas decided to test if the long number really was a phone number.

"Hello," came a familiar voice after a long wait, surprising Thomas.

"Wait, McHorn- How did you-"

"Oh, Higgins," McHorn explained, "This phone belongs to the badger doctor we captured."

 _Strange indeed. Why would the badger or the wolves deliberately put her number for the cops to see?_

"Erm, is she still around?"

"Ah, no. She's on the way to HQ now."

"I see. Thanks."

Thomas then made note to interrogate the badger first and foremost. Did she hire the wolves? What was her role? Why did she leave evidence so deliberately like that? And what business did she have with Lionheart?

"Higgins?" Rhinowitz called back.

"I heard you, Rhinowitz."

"We're at some medical examination room here... Though, you know what, there seems to be cells in here too."

"Go on."

"You... probably should have been here... to see it yourself."

"Just tell me for now," Thomas understood that what Rhinowitz saw must be so shocking for the rhino to speak with pauses like that.

"There are mammals locked up here, all violent, crazy... like Jackson... some worse."

Thomas waited as he could hear Rhinowitz slowly counting, stopping at twelve for a while.

"Higgins..."

This is the first time tonight that Thomas could hear shivers in Rhinowitz's voice.

"I see Bjornsdotter here... and Chief."


	22. Chapter 22: An Aside: Breaking News

Fabienne reread her dockets at the news room while waiting for the clock to strike eight. Everyone in the room would say that she's as cool as ever ( _and not just because of the snow leopard joke_ ), but in light of what happened last night, she was a bit stumped inside.

ZPD had raided an abandoned Cliffside Asylum to find that it had been used as an illegal incarceration facility for some mammals. Said imprisoned mammals, however, had lost their minds and been reduced to mindlessly lashing out at anyone. Fabienne considered it a miracle that her coworker, Oncardo, managed to get close enough to take a few snapshots of said savage mammals without getting mauled, or at least, without the ZPD barring him from approaching at all.

What was especially alarming was that among the imprisoned mammals, there were several police officers. One of them was the female bear, Helga Bjornsdotter, who made headline news just yesterday. But no one was at all prepared when they found out that the police chief himself had gone crazy.

Aside from that, it wasn't lost to many that all of the crazy victims were all predators. Even here at ZNN office, there were staffs gossiping about the implication.

Fabienne then caught sight of her regular partner, Peter. Unlike her, he liked to read his dockets away from the news room, often when enjoying his sumptuous breakfast. Peter then took his usual seat while noticing that they had two more minutes to go, while Fabienne continued reading.

"Is everything ok on your end, Fab?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"I see."

There was a tone of curiosity in Peter's reply. Did he notice she was bothered by the news?

Eventually the ZNN Prime Time jingle played, and Fabienne saw Peter nod and point to himself. She understood what that meant; that gesture was their usual code for who would read the first news.

"Good morning, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Morning. I am Peter Moosebridge."

"And I am Fabienne Growley."

"ZPD launched a raid at Cliffside Asylum last night. The facility, which was thought to have been abandoned, had been used as a hideout of a group of criminals who kidnapped fourteen mammals from across Zootopia, including several police officers such as ZPD Chief Frank Clawhauser. The victims, all of whom are predators-"

Fabienne cringed at that mention, then composed herself. It would be embarassing if she was caught like that on camera. Still...

"-for reasons yet to be confirmed exhibit extreme aggressive behavior, unwilling or incapable to reason. They have been quarantined and are pending diagnosis on their condition."

Peter then looked at Fabienne, and she continued the news.

"In addition to securing the fourteen savage mammals, ZPD also rescued Deputy Mayor Leodore Lionheart who had been whisked away by the same culprits. ZPD is currently investigating this series of events, and ZPD Deputy Chief Thomas Higgins has been scheduled for a press conference to give an official statement regarding this case later this morning. It is expected that Mayor Douglas Bellwether would be present as well."

After the morning news was over, Fabienne sighed in relief. She realized she might have huffed too loudly when she saw Peter glance at her in curiosity. Fabienne feigned a cough before smiling back at him as she left the news room, unaware of his furrowing.

* * *

Fabienne had just got back from the cafe across the office to have her lunch. Many ZNN staffs, such as her, usually didn't go for lunch at the same time as most Zootopians, thanks to the fact that ZNN Prime Time Noon played exactly during that lunch time. And of course, being a news anchor, she never had the chance to take a break when it was time for the Prime Time.

She remembered she didn't see Peter go out for lunch. Normal, she thought, as the moose usually ate after the news given how much he usually ate for breakfast.

On her way to the news room, she looked around guessing who would give her the dockets for the noon news. She saw a porcupine with dockets, the same porcupine who gave her the morning dockets, and promptly walked to him, expecting that he's carrying what she needed.

"Rutger!"

Despite having locked eyes with her for a few seconds, for some reason Rutger, the porcupine, looked tense, and Fabienne slowed down.

"Ah, um, sorry, something wrong?"

"Eh?" Rutger appeared he just snapped out of a torpor, "Ah, ye- no, no, no, nothing, haha."

The way Rutger looked at her felt strange. There was something in his eyes, something she hadn't seen much during her time as ZNN staff. Something akin to... _fear_?

"What is _wrong_ with you, Rutger?"

That voice was unmistakably Dennis', a beaver, and he stomped over to Rutger.

"Gimme that," Dennis yanked the dockets from Rutger, "There are some big news here from the ZPD, and you'd do well not to waste her time for chitchat."

Dennis then shoved the dockets to Fabienne's paws, leaving her puzzled.

"You know Oncy went to ZPD for the press conference, right?" Dennis spoke with his usual gusto, "Well, what he got was quite the bomb. So it's good you're back early, cuz' I think you'll need some time to digest them all."

"Okay, thanks."

As the beaver left, Fabienne looked around to see that Rutger had also walked away without much fuss. She became troubled when comparing how different Rutger and Dennis greeted her.

Fabienne began reading the dockets on her way to the news room. Deputy Chief Higgins had interrogated the culprits, including the badger doctor, who had been identified as Dr. Madge, an esteemed physiologist at St. Franz hospital at Tundratown. Fabienne saw a note detailing a little history about the doctor and the hospital. Whoever wrote that, that was thoughtful.

Back to the deputy chief, or rather, back to the docket. Mr. Higgins merely stated that the reason the mammals went savage was inconclusive, but apparently Oncardo managed to fish out a few things from Dr. Madge as she was hauled to the Zootopia Central Prison. That yellow jaguar could be pretty persistent sometimes, Fabienne chuckled at that. Anyway, the doctor said that the cause wasn't pinpointed yet, but she suspected there were biological reasons given that only predators went savage.

 _What?_

Fabienne stopped on her tracks upon reading those words. Biological reasons? Was this what Dennis mentioned about the shocker? Fabienne looked around, somehow suspecting there were glares pointed at her.

Then she sighed with a dry chuckle. _Biological reason... Well, that still could mean anything_. Back to the dockets and the news room.

The mayor would be going to Zootopia General Hospital to check on the savage mammals himself. Speaking of mayor, Fabienne flipped through the pages to see if there's any mention about the deputy mayor, but the only thing she found was that Mr. Lionheart had eluded the press for a while.

In other words, not long after he got kidnapped, Mr. Lionheart had gone missing again. Or did he?

With only a few more minutes left before the Prime Time, Fabienne looked on as Peter took his usual place. She somehow was jolted when the Prime Time jingle played, and Peter apparently noticed, as he immediately pointed to himself before she could do the same.

"Good day, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Noon. I am Peter Moosebridge."

"And I am Fabienne Growley."

Fabienne's reply came after an unusual pause, even as she still managed to compose herself. She was glad that with Peter opening the news, she had some seconds to calm down and deliver her lines as flawlessly as she had always done.

* * *

Fabienne reckoned she had never felt as nervous as she had been the entire day.

The news of the savage mammals was shocking, of course, moreso since even the police chief had succumbed to it. However, given that only predators seemed to go savage, suddenly some prey mammals, including some of her coworkers, began to suspect that even she would just go savage on them. That an eminent doctor from St. Franz hospital even posited that the cause might be biological just worsened the mood.

She could only hope there weren't more bad news later.

Still, Fabienne asked herself why she was having an afternoon tea alone. For some reason, she didn't want to invite anyone along today. Maybe she just didn't want anyone to see her looking moody.

Fabienne then checked her phone in case some of her coworkers had something interesting to say.

Only one news caught her attention: Deputy Chief Higgins had summoned Deputy Mayor Lionheart for questioning regarding the Cliffside Asylum case. The interrogation was still ongoing at the time of the writing, but there were rumors that Lionheart was deeply involved in the savage mammal case.

On one paw, Fabienne guessed that Lionheart's knowledge about the case might help explain why the wolves kidnapped him. On the other paw, the press hadn't been able to reach Mr. Lionheart for the entire day, including the time when Mr. Higgins was giving speech to the press. What's going on, actually?

"Oh, hi, Fabbie!"

Fabienne looked around, and eventually located the source of the running sound. She reflexively waved to Oncardo, unsure if the jaguar saw that. That he appeared to be very harried piqued her concern, and she decided to finish her break and follow him to the editor's room, arriving right as Oncardo got out.

"Oh, Fabbie," Oncardo chuckled as though he just bumped Fabienne.

"Seems like big news, huh, Oncardo?" Fabienne asked gently, but then noticed a rip on the jaguar's jacket, "Goodness, what happened?"

"Oh, this?" Oncardo smiled nervously, "Well, you know, with big news, there's riot and a few pushing around to get the best tidbits. That happens, heh."

"Again... agh."

Fabienne's exasperation was apparent. She had heard that field work sometimes could get rough, which at once made her glad she got to work inside the office and concerned about her coworkers who came back from the field grumbling over all manners of things, ranging from rude interviewee, unruly reporters from other news agency, or bad weather.

Which then brought to her attention that Oncardo hadn't mouthed off anyone.

"Oncardo, aren't you being... too quiet?"

"Huh? Oh, well, I was too tired- a bit annoyed but too tired, yeah," Oncardo chuckled, a cheerless one compared to his previous one, "Next time I see those... bastards, I'll..."

The jaguar's truncated words worried Fabienne, especially when Rutger walked past the two. It was minor, but Fabienne could swear Rutger was swerving away from them. She returned her gaze to Oncardo once the porcupine was out of view and found the jaguar's eyes adrift.

"Oncardo?"

"Huh? Oh, right, about that rude journali-"

"No, no no, wait, could you tell me-"

Fabienne was surprised herself that she choked up.

"I, uh, I'll change. Just don't crack later, okay?"

" _Wait!_ "

And the jaguar ran off. Fabienne could only guess what actually happened.

"Eh, Faby!" Dennis swung open the door of the editor's room, "What're ye doing, standing around here?"

"Eh?"

"Wait, you talked to Oncy?" Dennis continued before Fabienne regained her senses, "And here I thought his report earlier this morning was crazy. This one's madness, I tell you."

Dennis handed some dockets over to a stupor-stricken Fabienne. Before she began reading it, she decided to throw a few questions.

"Did Oncardo say anything to you earlier?"

"Eh? No. Well, given the big whammy, I guess he just couldn't wait to share it with us folks."

"No, I mean, did he say anything about... um, his jacket being ripped?"

"What, what, what, Faby, since when you ask me about something like _that_?" Dennis chuckled in disbelief, "Anyway, those are the news for the evening. Gotta find Petey too, see ya later."

And Dennis bolted off to find Peter. So he didn't notice anything wrong with Oncardo, Fabienne brooded. She then began flipping the dockets.

Mayor Bellwether had been busy in the afternoon. First, he visited the hospital where the savage mammals were quarantined. His visit was concluded with a theory matching with Dr. Madge's posit, that the predators had gone savage due to biological reasons. In fact, there were further hypotheses that something in predators' DNA stirred up their killer instinct and made them go berserk.

Fabienne froze. _Are they- are any of this some real, serious crap?_

The snow leopard whipped her head around, wondering what others had been thinking about her.

Then she realized that with her having just gotten the dockets, nobody aside from Oncardo and Dennis would have known.

Then she realized she had to read those news anyway.

Fabienne shook her head and inhaled deeply. _Focus, Fab, focus, that's just hypothesis, right?_

But Rutger's behavior ever since the afternoon was still fresh in her mind.

"Fab?"

Fabienne jumped upon hearing that, then exhaled nervously when she found it was just Peter.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, thank you," Fabienne answered as calmly as she could, but she realized based on Peter's frown that the moose didn't buy her reply.

"I know you're just trying to be professional, Fab, but if you're too shocked right now," Peter then held Fabienne's paw, "don't push yourself. I'll talk to boss that you need some break."

"But, uh, Peter-"

Peter tilted his head, concerned at what Fabienne might say.

"No."

"I see."

"Thanks for your concern," Fabienne rubbed Peter's hoof, "but I've been a face of the Prime Time all this time. I can do this."

Peter, smiled, but Fabienne could see he's still worried.

"Let's go then."

The two then made it to the news room to prepare for the Prime Time Evening. Fabienne remembered it was very unusual for Peter to read his dockets in the news room, but that's minor issue. That Peter pointed to himself was a slight reprieve for her; A few additional seconds of calming down was better than none.

* * *

Peter looked at Fabienne who was at the passenger seat. The snow leopard predictably had been restless for the last few hours, given the news about what Mayor Bellwether had found at the hospital and his possible plans to deal with the savage mammals that he wanted to discuss with Deputy Chief Higgins. That she was able to at all maintain her poise throughout the Prime Time evening was something he was proud of her.

But it wasn't usual for Peter to drive Fabienne home, given that she usually just took public transport back. However, considering what they heard happened to Oncardo after he clocked out for the day, Peter had decided that Fabienne shouldn't return alone.

Peter hadn't seen Oncardo since noon, but Fabienne said the jaguar got into a tussle during his visit to the hospital to interview the mayor. The way she insisted it must have been serious was proven when they got a message saying that a yellow jaguar was assaulted in the streets by some prey mammals. Oncardo replied their frantic inquiry saying that nothing was wrong, but the two of them suspected that it really was him who got attacked. What troubled them greatly was that Oncardo wasn't someone who would take such cruelty lying down.

"Thanks for the ride home," Fabienne smiled as Peter stopped at her house.

"You're welcome," Peter replied, his own smile faltering slightly as he continued, "Anyway, I'll visit Oncardo later and I'll let you know how he fares."

"Yeah."

The two spent a few seconds in silence. Before Fabienne opened the door, Peter spoke up.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. What time's good for you?"

"Huh, wha-"

"Shush," Peter held up a hoof, "You know as well as I do that considering whatever have happened, it's best that you don't walk out alone in the open for the time being."

Fabienne mulled over Peter's words. Considering what they believed happened to Oncardo, he had a point. Still...

"Is it not a hassle for you?"

"A little detour isn't a problem."

Fabienne smiled as she said, "Thanks. Make it 6:30."

"All right."

Fabienne then got in, leaving Peter alone. He sighed. Tomorrow was looking to be very messy.

* * *

 _ **#####**_

 _ **#####**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **A side chapter. I don't know why, but I feel sometimes sidetracking from the main characters feel a bit normal to me (you may notice Chapter 8 is the first of such chapters). Hope you don't mind; the main characters will make a full return next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23: Inside

Nick really didn't like the atmosphere in the bullpen this morning. Or for that matter, the atmosphere of the entire morning from his waking up had been nothing but dreadful.

That ZPD managed to uncover the truth about the missing mammals should have been a cause for joy, if not for the fact that those missing mammals were found to have all gone insane. Like Jackson.

And Chief Clawhauser was among them.

No doubt that was the reason why Ben was absent today.

And as if in accord, the bullpen felt empty. It's not that Nick was the only officer there, but the sheer amount of empty chairs, and the utter lack of banters among the few officers present made it feel like there was no one.

"Officers Elxandre and Wilde, records and archiving. Dismissed."

Nick gaped. _Wait a minute...  
_

"Uh, excuse me, Higgins, did I-" Nick wondered if accosting Higgins about this was a good idea.

"What is it, Wilde?" Higgins asked back, and Elxandre also looked at Nick in curiosity.

"Ah, uh, uh huh, nothing. Sorry. Just, urm, traumatized with my previous records works haha."

"Ah," Higgins understood what Nick actually meant, "Considering what happened last night, Wilde, I think some office work should help cool you off a bit. You've done a good job."

"I, uh, thank you," Nick nodded sheepishly, noting that Elxandre shrugged and began to leave, "Oh, and... well, I haven't checked on him, but, uh... is Johnson ok?"

Higgins' frown made Nick regret blurting out that question.

"Well... that depends on how you saw him yesterday, Wilde," came Higgins' forlorn reply.

Nick nodded. He was considering asking about Ben too, but that might be too many questions.

* * *

Compared to his previous records work, Nick found the current office work overall more lively. After all, unlike that time when he was cooped up in the records office all day long, he now got to bustle all over HQ. Sure, the building was smaller than Zootopia, but all those running around up and down the house was comparable to zipping around Zootopia in a cruiser. And that he ended up working mostly at the upper floors was a plus; Seeing the world, any world, from a high vantage point was always fascinating.

But each time work slowed down, his enthusiasm evaporated. Having nothing to distract him from thinking about all the recent mess, however temporary, was more depressing than usual.

Thankfully, Elxandre had been a great colleague the entire morning. His accent sometimes threw Nick off, especially taking into account that the two rarely spoke with one another, but he's been supportive, although he slipped into melancholy at times when recounting how Bjornsdotter usually was the one who did this sort of intraoffice work.

From the top floor, Nick noticed that a few reporters had been at the lobby, now greeted by Trunkaby. Nick wondered when the press conference would be, and if those reporters had been too early.

Not long after, Nick saw a few officers hauling out a few wolves. The culprits who holed up at Cliffside, from what Nick knew.

"'Bout time th'moved the perps to central prison," Elxandre chimed from behind Nick.

"Ah, is that so?" Nick replied, as he saw one yellow jaguar reporter trying to interrogate the wolves.

"Hum hum."

Nick noticed that not only the officers were trying to rebuff the jaguar, the wolf perps were apparently not keen on entertaining his questions either, causing him to back down.

Nick was about to continue his work when he saw an entirely different perp being hauled off; A badger. Nick recalled this badger was unique among the perps not only because of her species, but also her profession. Even more surprising was that apparently that little badger bossed around those wolves. _What a strangely hilarious situation._

The jaguar reporter went straight to the badger like what he did with the wolves prior. The officers were as unwelcoming as ever, but the badger apparently was willing to answer a few questions. Despite the officers' effort to discourage the jaguar, he followed the badger until they all left the building.

"Journalists," Elxandre sighed, whether in exasperation or wonder was unclear, "Pers'tent, a'ways."

Nick chuckled at that, especially when he noticed the jaguar went back in. Was he not at all afraid the officers might kick him out for being so intrusive?

Nick spent some time in the inner offices, and when he went back out in the open, he gawked at the herd of reporters downstairs. Looked like the conference would begin soon. Nick silently wished he could be downstairs to sit and listen, but at the same time given what Higgins said yesterday, his presence was likely unwelcome. He just kept hoping to have enough work to take his mind off the commotion.

* * *

Judy never liked lunch breaks. The herd of mammals swarming the diner meant a lot of work, and while her size and agility helped her with serving food, running all over the room practically nonstop for long minutes was always very tiring.

She later slumped on a chair once the last customer left. With her feeling drained like this, she decided to clock out. At least the tip she got from the sheer amount of customers was pretty sizeable, one of the only thing she could tolerate about the hectic hours.

The streets were mostly the same as Judy made her way back, and the doldrum sapped her alertness.

" _Really?_ Doggie, was three too few-"

Judy braked too late at a junction upon hearing that and she ended up bumping the lady on the phone.

"Ah, I'm sorry, miss-"

Judy then perked up upon recognizing the little sheep who was frantically trying to catch her phone after that collision.

"Dawn!"

Dawn realized who just called her.

"Hiii! Oh, a minute-" Dawn immediatelly turned around and continued talking on the phone, "I know what you want, Doggie, but dar- dealing with all of them? ... Argh, fine, fine! ... Yeah, don't forget I'm charging more for that much work, ok? ... No, just some... friend, don't fret it."

Dawn irately hung up and found herself facing Judy's smirk.

"I never knew you work for a wolf," came Judy's snark.

"Wolf?" Dawn looked confused, but then seemed to realize quickly what Judy meant, "Oh, yeah, that Doggie? Haha, actually I wished he really were a wolf."

Judy almost burst laughing.

"I'm serious. Then it would've been easier to hate him," Dawn explained as the two crossed the road.

"That's the weirdest way I've heard anyone describe their boss."

The two laughed it out.

"You look tired, Judy," Dawn asked.

"Oh yeah," Judy wiped her head before answering, "Well, that's the problem with working at a diner."

"Omigosh, I think I haven't even eaten lunch," Dawn laughed sheepishly.

"What manner of a boss do you have that he bugs you at lunch break?" Judy's question was met with giggling.

"Eh, it's hard to describe it. Just be happy that he's not your boss," Dawn replied as the two walked to the nearest food joint.

"Well, I guess I can agree with-"

The two then heard a sound of a door being violently opened. They realized it was from a nearby food joint, and they saw a wolf stumbling backwards, almost falling apparently from being pushed.

"What- what the hell, guys?" The wolf protested.

"We're not serving chompers now, _beat it_!" and the door was slammed. The loudness of that voice hinted it was an elephant.

The wolf then walked away towards Judy's direction. He cast a glance at Judy, and she saw he seemed more morose than angry.

"And here we are, just talking about wolves," Dawn chuckled, then perked up when seeing the name of the joint, "Oh, my, isn't this my favorite salad bistro?"

Dawn then tugged Judy to go in, but Judy's inertia and her sight on the wolf alarmed the sheep.

"Uh, Judy, what's wrong?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing," Judy chuckled, but then frowned upon realizing what Dawn wanted to do, "Oh, Dawn, well... I dunno, I don't think I wanna eat there."

"What? Oh, I mean, you don't like salad?"

"Not really. More like I have a feeling the owner's an ass."

"Ah, that-"

"On a second thought, let's just get in and get your lunch over with," Judy chuckled, "If we keep talking here, it'll be Christmas before you have your lunch."

And so the two got into the bistro. Dawn ordered first, and Judy stifled her laughter upon seeing the finished dish, an enormous pile of greens almost as big as the sheep's head. As Judy browsed the menu while Dawn reserved a table, she found the elephant owner's cheer at odds with his rough dismissal of the wolf earlier.

"By the way, mister, did that wolf do something to you earlier?"

"Eh?" the elephant clearly didn't expect such a question Judy.

"Like, I dunno, tried to rob you in your own bistro or something?" Judy continued her inquiry as she pointed to her chosen small dish.

"Thankfully no, miss," the elephant finally grasped what Judy meant, "I'm just trying to protect my customers, you see."

"Oh, wow, a known criminal stalking your bistro?" Judy expressed her surprise as the elephant ordered his chef to prepare her dish.

"Actually, I don't know. But- um, I wonder if you read the news?"

Judy shook her head in curiosity. She then realized she hadn't even read any news since morning.

"Anyway, that's your salad, miss," the elephant pointed out at Judy's salad, "and, seriously, read the news. We're in trouble."

 _We're in trouble?_ Judy decided to save that question for her talk with Dawn.

"Aw, that's a teeny little dish you're having," Dawn teased.

"Still a bit full from my own lunch earlier," Judy replied, at the same time smirking upon seeing that Dawn's already half-done with her titanic pile.

"I see."

Dawn then paused as she continued chowing down. Judy was eating more slowly as she read the news. Eventually Dawn was alerted by Judy's gawking as she stopped eating.

"What's the matter, Judy?"

No answer.

"Judy?"

Silence. Dawn then tapped Judy on the paw.

"Ah!" Judy snapped from the apparent torpor, "Sorry, a bit shocked, ha ha."

Dawn noticed that Judy was reading news.

"Oh. That. Yeah, funny, isn't it, that predators just go crazy like that, trying to kill anyone in sight?"

"Kill-", Judy choked up, "And the reason was biological?"

"Yes, I think so- I mean, isn't that the doctor said?"

Judy slumped back to her earlier torpor. For some reason she rubbed her cheek. Dawn became curious.

"What's wrong- oh, don't tell me that fox cop-"

Dawn stopped when Judy shook her head.

"Biological... natural... instinctive..."

"Huh?" Dawn was befuddled upon hearing Judy speaking less and less coherently.

"Killer instinct?"

"What? Judy, what are you talking about?"

Judy snapped back again.

"Ah, uh, sorry, ha ha."

"Judy, what's wrong? Ever since you read the news it's as if your brain imploded."

"Ah, don't mind me on that," Judy tried to shrug it off.

"No, I mean, were you attacked by a cop? Well, other than that crazy bear fuzz you told me before."

Judy shook her head again and inhaled.

"Sorry. It's just that I'm reminded of some... old pain."

"Oh, dear, what happened?"

"Well, there's this fat fox in class who just loved to bully the other kids around, steal their stuffs, insult and mock like nobody's business."

Judy took another deep breath, somewhat reluctant to continue her story.

"So, you see, Dawn, I've always dreamed to be a police officer. There's this one time I said that in front of the class, and yeah, that fat fox just heckled me. We had a fight over that, and he clawed me here."

Judy pointed to her cheek.

"Omigosh, that is terrible," Dawn gasped in horror.

"Yeah. He then said that only preds get to be cops because preds have killer instincts in their DNA, thus more fitting to do the rough and dangerous police jobs."

"Ooookay," Dawn then shot a gaze at Judy, "Wait, you said pred has killer instinct in their DNA?"

"Well, not my words, but yeah, that's what that fat fox said," Judy huffed, "Funny. All this time I train myself for police work, to prove to him... and to everyone else, actually... that I don't need some killer instinct to be a cop... and now I find it's because of this killer instinct that those preds end up becoming crazy murderers."

Judy buried her face in her paws.

"I wanted to be a cop because I believe I can do police work. But now I think I really have to be a cop because... we just can't have those preds just harm anyone like this!"

Judy then turned her head towards the elephant owner.

"I talked to him a bit earlier," Judy mused as Dawn looked on, "He's right. He just wants to protect his customers when he did that."

Dawn noticed what she thought was some renewed zeal in Judy's expression, and she beamed in kind.

"Ah, there I go, monologuing like a lunatic again," Judy chuckled, then threw a piece of lettuce into her mouth, "Anyway, bon appetit!"

Dawn's nodding piqued Judy's curiosity, but she wasn't in the mood of prodding further. The two then continued their lunch while talking about other things.

* * *

"You've been sulking since af'rnoon, Wilde," Elxandre asked again, "What's wrong?"

"Ah... um, it's nothing much, haha."

Nick could tell Elxandre noticed he was bothered, though it appeared the elk hadn't guessed exactly what troubled the fox. Maybe he should explain that it was the shocking noon news.

The badger doctor whom ZPD arrested posited that the reason predators and only predators went savage was biological. In other words, something natural.

Nick wanted to swear that he had over twenty years' worth of living experience to disprove the notion that predators were naturally predisposed to savagery. Yet, the fifteen savage mammals were a weighty counterargument.

That aside, Mayor Bellwether would be visiting the hospital where the savage mammals were quarantined. Maybe the result of his visit would be announced later during evening news.

Nick then saw Elxandre rummage a cabinet that he had just finished working on. Nick thought he heard a sigh from the elk.

"Sorry, Elxandre, something wrong?"

"Oh,'ell," the elk then rummaged for words as he took out a few files from the cabinet, "These files shouldn't b'stashed here."

Nick groaned.

"Really, Wilde, s'there a problem?" Elxandre then put the files in a different cabinet, "You've been moody a'day, sure, but you're unfocused evers'n af'rnoon."

Nick conceded to the idea of explaining to Elxandre.

"It's the news."

"ZNN Noon, you mean?"

"Yeah, that."

"N'what 'bout it?"

"Well, I just can't wrap my head around what they heard from that arrested doctor."

"T'one about biological causes?"

Nick nodded when he noticed Elxandre looking at him. The elk sighed.

"S'that really th'case here? Maybe th'doctor just wann'a scapegoat or something."

"I did think that way the first time too, Elxandre. But the doctor is a predator. Why would she endanger her own kind with that kind of excuse?"

"Hmmm... You're right."

The two then just continued their work until the clock told Nick it was time to clock out.

"You can g'home first, Wilde," Elxandre spoke as he was sorting a few documents, "Leave th'rest to me."

Nick thanked Elxandre and left after tidying the rest of his work, and saluted Trunkaby on his way out. Having planned nothing for the rest of the day, Nick decided to just head back home for now.

* * *

Dinner at home was the usual fare, though Nick could tell his mom just wouldn't buy his efforts to console her when she asked him if he's fine. Mothers, Nick chuckled wryly inside.

"Good evening, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Evening. I am Peter Moosebridge."

"And I am Fabienne Growley."

Realizing that the evening news was on, Nick went to the living room and turned up the TV so that his mom could hear the news while cleaning up the dinner table.

"Mayor Bellwether had visited Zootopia General Hospital this afternoon to survey the savage mammals who had been quarantined there. Dr. Buckton, a physiologist, stated that investigation of the cause was still ongoing, but he echoed the statement made by Dr. Madge, the doctor from St. Franz hospital who was arrested for kidnapping last night, that the cause was likely biological. He added that something in the predators' DNA may be responsible for the reversion to their savage state by amplifying their killer instinct-"

And Nick didn't hear the rest of the news.

 _What the hell?_

"Did I just hear-" Mrs. Wilde walked to the living room and was alarmed when she saw Nick, "Nick, sweetheart?"

When Nick didn't respond, his mom then shook him hard until he came to his senses.

"Ah, mom?"

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Mrs. Wilde then wrapped herself over Nick, "Hush, hush, Nick, don't- don't take it to heart, ok?"

Nick slowly embraced his mom.

"I... I know, mom. But..."

"I can't believe that- no, I _won't_ believe that nonsense, you know that, right?"

"... Yes, I know."

The two spend some time in silence trying to console each other as the news kept running.

"... Mayor Bellwether has also expressed his wish to discuss about the state of ZPD with Deputy Chief Higgins given that three police officers have gone savage. Mr. Mayor was concerned that with so many predators in the force, the possibility of more of them going savage would endanger public safety as well as undermine the integrity of the police."

Mrs. Wilde noticed that Nick's embrace went limp after that statement.

"Hush, hush, sweetheart. Know that I'm always on your side," was all she could say.

"I..."

A pause as the news kept running with things they didn't hear.

"Okay, mom," Nick nuzzled her, "Okay, don't worry. If this troubles me too much, I'll talk to my superior about this."

Mrs. Wilde could only nod, at the same time worrying about what might happen tomorrow, even as she knew it's her son who took it harder.


	24. Chapter 24: Dissolution

ZPD HQ was quiet as usual in the wee hours of the morning, something that Thomas appreciated this time considering whatever had been happening the entire day yesterday.

Out of all the suspects they arrested from Cliffside Asylum, only the badger Dr. Madge was willing to talk. She explained that she got an anonymous tip-off (and she was persistent in not remembering who it was) of the first savage mammal case about two weeks ago, a bear who lived somewhere at Downtown. The bear was still under diagnosis when the second and third cases, a snow leopard and a polar bear at Tundratown, happened.

With no cause and solution apparent after analyzing those three cases, she decided to hire a personal task force to move the current savage mammals to Cliffside Asylum, and used that facility as her base of operation to contain and cure the savages. Her reasoning was that she once worked there for a while before its closure, so she knew the place could work well for quarantine.

Upon being asked why Lionheart was at Cliffside, Dr. Madge, after a pause, said that she had wanted to inform the higher-ups about her findings so that she'd have some authoritative backing in her plan to warn the public about the savage mammals. But with no lead as to which official could help, she had her wolves single out the most fitting one she could share with, and she thought Lionheart appeared most approachable. She mentioned Lionheart was unwilling to get involved, but with more and more predators going savage, including police officers, she decided to have him whisked to Cliffside to show him the direness of the situation. She was yet to coax a reply from him when ZPD got wind of Cliffside.

Whatever Dr. Madge had said sounded plausible, especially after Thomas sent some personnel to delve into the badger's recent history. She hadn't been around at St. Franz for about two weeks according to her colleagues, who were predictably surprised when they learned about her actions. Her bank account had received no further influx ever since then, and the expenditures corresponded relatively well with what she might have spent to keep those wolves task force at work and Cliffside running.

However, Thomas had a lingering feeling that Lionheart was an accessory. Those wolves were extremely skilled; They could easily pass as bodyguards for authorities, secret service for the government, but no mere hitmammals who could be hired willy-nilly by anyone with money. How could a mere physiologist, no matter how prominent, have them under her command?

That was just one reason why he opted to interrogate Lionheart about Cliffside.

Fangmeyer reported that City Hall's security guard at that time noticed Lionheart seemed restless that evening, making quite a few phone calls or messaging before leaving the building. Even Mayor Bellwether offhandedly remarked that Lionheart seemed very busy recently. Based on what Thomas saw in the traffic cam records, someone, maybe the same white wolf whom Wolford took down, picked up Lionheart near the City Hall that evening and the deputy mayor apparently entered the vehicle voluntarily. Neither of those translated into Lionheart being carried off to Cliffside against his will.

Thus he had requested to interrogate Lionheart about the lion's potential involvement, even getting a warrant to delve into Lionheart's recent activities and records. But the most the lion said was that he didn't know why Dr. Madge sought him out about the savage mammals and that he was equally shocked upon finding out that some police officers were among them. And nothing the police found about Lionheart was a solid clue that he was more involved than a mere target.

What this meant was Dr. Madge was the only mammal whom Thomas can talk to regarding the kidnapping case.

Also, when he asked the badger about the note with the numbers, she remarked she left her number there as a last minute decision so that, in the event ZPD wanted to free the savage mammals, she could assist however she could. Indeed, as Rhinowitz proved, the numbers below her phone number were passcodes to open the cells.

What was Dr. Madge's reason to be so generous? Actual altruism, despite the fact that she was one such predator who could have gone savage as well? Or another attempt to minimize, no, wipe any relation with Lionheart? That phone was new, as her colleagues at St. Franz said she went by another number. It really was like what Rhinowitz remarked; These mammals who worked to kidnap and contain the savage mammals were unbelievably efficient at being secretive.

Thomas rubbed his face. All those dealings with the badger and Lionheart were headache enough, but soon enough there's another major happening he dreaded.

* * *

The discussion room felt considerably vacant, as it was too big for a mere five mammals to occupy. But considering what Thomas was about to discuss with Mayor Bellwether soon, the spaciousness gave a feel of privacy, a small measure of comfort before digesting the mayor's stance about ZPD.

"So I heard another police officer went savage last night."

A wolf cop had gone savage while on patrol, together with a tiger civilian. The last report the cop relayed to HQ was that the tiger was driving recklessly, and when ZPD found the two, they had been mauling each other, with the tiger left in a very bad shape.

Thomas nodded. Mayor sighed.

"That's four police officers now, Mr. Higgins. How are you going to explain to public that the cops, the predators in the force especially, can just go crazy at random and attack civilians blindly?"

"I can understand your concern, Mr. Mayor. As police officers, our duty to protect and serve, so in light of what is happening with the predators, I have planned some measures to minimize casualties should this situation flare up at moment's notice."

"And what's your plan?" Mayor's pointed question as if cued his two bodyguards to glare at Thomas.

"Primarily I'll assign the predator officers to posts where they will have minimal exposure to the public. You know, like office work, records and the like."

"Ah, that's plausible," Mayor then tapped his chin, "but..."

"What's your opinion on the matter, Mr. Mayor?"

"See, even if you confine them to office work, if they just go savage anyway, wouldn't it be harmful to you?"

"With more eyes watching them closely, we can minimize damage even if that were to happen."

"I'm glad you're confident on that part, Mr. Higgins," Mayor slumped back, "but considering the number of predators in the force, if you were to pull them all to HQ, there won't be as many officers on active patrol duty."

Thomas silently praised Mayor for doing his homework.

"And besides, those officers don't live here in this building. You can't always have them under your watch once they clock out."

"I can arrange for a change of work schedule in that case to minimize contact between officers and civilians."

Mayor's hum indicated that he didn't agree with that.

"No, Mr. Higgins. I think that we haven't been discussing a possible root cause and solution for this problem."

"Aren't the doctors still sorting that out?"

"They've already said the savagery is caused by an internal factor, haven't they?"

Thomas considered his rebuttals. The doctors hadn't pinpointed exactly what internal factor, what part of DNA or instinctive physiology, triggered the predators going savage. But merely saying that would be no different than just agreeing with Mayor. And Thomas still couldn't believe that really was the case. After all, if it really were the predators' killer instinct running amok, why only now did it come to the fore in a sudden wave?

"Even considering that, Mr. Mayor, the predators are still Zootopia citizens, and the police officers are the same," Thomas decided on a reply, "As I said, as a cop I believe in, first and foremost, protecting. On the other paw, while the safety of public is paramount, we ZPD also need to look after ourselves."

Mayor pondered for a while.

"And yet if you have to split your already thinning resources to keep watch on both public safety and your own predators, won't that be detrimental to your main duty to protect the city?"

"In worst case scenario, I've considered hiring additional officers-"

"Ah, that's a... good idea."

Thomas was surprised at Mayor's sudden enthusiasm at the mention of additional hirings.

"But...," and yet that enthusiasm flew away as abruptly.

"What's wrong, Mr. Mayor?"

"Well, to be frank here, I've actually been thinking about this since I heard that your bear officer, who was it again?"

"Helga Bjornsdotter, sir."

"Right, her. So when I heard that she went savage, I... truthfully worried that there might be another case of a police officer going crazy on a civilian. So I considered searching for some... auxiliary security forces just in case."

Thomas was reminded of Mayor's phone call after that press conference. Something about meeting in the evening at Tujunga or somewhere else. Was that about this auxiliary forces?

"They're all preys, by the way."

"I suppose I can consider having them to support us while the doctors try to figure out if the savagery can be reversed."

"Mr. Higgins, I'm sure you know that whenever a biological case like this occur, it can take quite long for the doctors and scientists to find a conclusive way to deal with it."

"And what about it?" Thomas started to feel that Mayor was getting pushy.

"I propose you induct those auxiliary forces in due haste to stabilize ZPD, and thus, the city as a whole. Preferably within one or two days."

Thomas nearly choked.

"With... due respect, Mr. Mayor, I haven't even known who those mammals are. I can't just accept them to ZPD without proper background check."

"I can send you the list soon," Mayor cut him off, "There're some dozen-plus of them. From what I've found so far, they were either promising candidates who were not admitted to ZPA, or those who went in but for whatever reason didn't make it into the force, and thus had to find work for other institutions."

Thomas didn't like the sound of it somehow.

"Fine, Mr. Mayor. Please send me the list as soon as you can so that I can conduct preliminary assessments on their suitability."

"I certainly hope they all are satisfactory, Mr. Higgins. Their number is not enough to fully cover the loss of ZPD manpower due to this predator case."

"I do hope- Wait, what?"

Thomas could hear Krumpanski, the one behind him, as audibly shocked.

"Excuse me, sir, what do you mean a dozen or so is not enough to cover for four incapacitated officers-"

Thomas began to realize what Mayor was going to say before the sheep speak it out.

"I'm going back to my proposal for the solution while we're getting into the root cause."

Thomas could only ask a dreadful "Which is?"

"With regards to the fact that predators can go savage at any moment, you have raised a good point about minimizing contact between predators officers and the populace. Prevention is better than a cure, after all. But as I said before, even if you do arrange for rescheduling and such, if those predator cops go savage anyway, it still shows to the public that ZPD can't protect them. So..."

Mayor leaned forward.

"I'd rather the predators are taken off the force to rebuild the public trust for ZPD."

A few long seconds passed before Thomas said, "No."

"What else can we do, Mr. Higgins? Another predator cop going savage, and the public will turn on you. ZPD is the only semblance of order we have in the city, Mr. Higgins, and if the public thinks that you can't be trusted to protect them-"

"I get what you want to say, Mr. Mayor, but-"

Thomas took a deep breath.

"Sir, I object."

"You already voiced that," Mayor sighed, "But consider the situation, Mr. Higgins. If another police officer goes crazy and attacks a civilian, it surely will cause public unrest. And I don't like a society that can't trust its higher-ups."

Thomas rubbed his face.

"They- these cops, even though they're predators who are at risk of going savage- they have always had the city's well-being in their mind. As their current leader, I just don't find it fit to sideline them completely while waiting for the cure or root cause to be found."

"Sideline?" for a second Thomas thought Mayor chortled, "No, keeping them in the force won't placate the public if they know there are still dangerous predators working at an authoritative institution such as ZPD."

"Sir, no-" Thomas' voice began to crack.

"You said it yourself, right, Mr. Higgins? A cop's duty is to protect, first and foremost. But will the public be willing to accept your promise to protect them if they see you as someone incapable of such?"

"I'm afraid that's too far, sir."

Mayor wheezed.

"I repeat, Mr. Higgins. Won't it be easier for you, ZPD, to protect and serve if the public believes that you can do that? On the other hoof, if the public sees ZPD officers as inherently dangerous, won't it make it hard for you to serve the city?"

Thomas mulled it over, and Krumpanski patted his shoulder to calm him however slightly.

"Mind if I discuss this over with my personnel, Mr. Mayor? I'm sure you know that suspending so many officers for an indeterminate time so suddenly like this will cause major unrest."

"I understand," Mayor nodded, but then he realized someone's calling him.

"What? I'm still busy ... That? Okay, go ahead."

Mayor then hung up and began to leave.

"A few more questions, Mr. Mayor, if I may?"

"What is it?" Mayor sat back down.

"I look forward to the list, so please help furnish it as soon as you can."

"Of course. Anything else?"

"... Um, no, on a second thought, that's all."

Mayor and his two bodyguards then left the room, leaving Thomas and Krumpanski by themselves.

"What's your plan, Higgins?" Krumpanski's question felt heavy.

"Gather all our... predator friends at the bullpen after office hour."

Krumpanski raised his eyebrow. Thomas Higgins was one of the more amiable seniors in the force, but aside from a select few such as Chief, he usually never used that one word to address anyone else.

* * *

The bullpen was tense that evening, and the officers, all of whom predators except Thomas and Krumpanski, looked drained, which was to be expected after what happened earlier that day.

A group of prey mammals staged a demonstration protesting about the presence of predators in ZPD, claiming that given the savage predators case, they object to having such potentially dangerous mammals in the force. Several demonstrants even lashed out at a few predator cops on guard at the scene, as Thomas could see that some of them came into the bullpen with injuries. And based on field report, this kind of demonstration might continue another day, perhaps branching into demanding the resignation or suspension of the predators at City Hall, such as Deputy Mayor Lionheart.

That incident brought more weight to what Mayor Bellwether's proposal. At least the sheep had given the list of mammals who comprised his so-called auxiliary forces, and so far one or two names Thomas had checked looked acceptable.

"Higgins, are you just going to accept Mayor's proposal to replace us all just because we're preds?" Fangmeyer shot the first angry question.

After shaking his head, Thomas replied, "I've known you for a long time. I'd rather work with you all than with some, I dunno, neonates who probably have no clue about police work."

"Then just say no to him!" Delgato chimed.

"I _want_ to, Delgato," Thomas replied wistfully as he saw the lion's torn sleeve.

"So? I mean, sure, we don't know why exactly predators go savage, but you know we can keep an eye on one another."

"Don't be too hard on him, Fang," Snarlov interrupted.

"I'm sure he believes in us taking care of one another," Wolford concurred, "He just doesn't like seeing any of us hurt. Like you, Delgato."

Delgato simmered down. Some of the officers could tell that the lion didn't think much about his injuries. Part of the job, he certainly would say.

"Wolford has spoken my point," Thomas continued, "You all have been protecting and serving the city ever since you joined ZPD. Five years ago, seven, ten, some even longer. Even the newest members have been dedicated to ZPD's cause from day one, and I'm proud of that."

Thomas could see some of the junior officers beaming with pride, even as they tried to project that out of their pained expression.

"But I don't want you all getting hurt just because the public doesn't like you. Taking abuse just like that is not the right way to protect the city; It's not our job to be pushed around. So, I've decided, for not just the city but also for all of your safety-"

Thomas took a deep breath. Given what he discussed with Mayor earlier and the demonstration that brought harm to some of the police officers, he actually had made the hard choice. But he still hated to spit it out.

"I will tell Mayor that I accept his proposal."

Everyone went quiet.

"But you'll still have one day of work tomorrow while I sort out this swap."

Thomas then took another long gaze at everyone in the room. They didn't show it, but he still felt remorseful of having said what he just said.

"Then the day after that," Thomas really didn't want to say it, "You all will be put under suspension until further notice."

Higgins had expected that the bullpen would erupt upon that announcement, but aside from a few gasps, everyone remained solemnly quiet. And it unnerved him instead.

"During that time, I can only ask of you to stay low, don't be too vocal about this, but... keep in touch with one another. Even if you're not in the force, you're- we're still... friends."

Some of the younger officers apparently noticed a few of their elders gulped upon that last word.

"I'll do all I can to watch over you all. I just hope this won't last long... I'm not sure how it'll feel like without you in here."

Wolford gave his applause, and a few other followed.

"Don't worry, Higgins," Wolford was as stoic as he had always been, "This isn't the end of our ZPD. I know once you see it fit, you'll help get us all back here."

Thomas could only smile upon the cheer of the bullpen. He took the time to salute, even shook paw or bumped fists with each one of the officers as they made their way out. Eventually he and Krumpanski were left in the bullpen, and the hippo stood still.

"I'm going back to my post," Krumpanski was about to leave.

"He _never_ would have wanted this."

Krumpanski halted. He could guess what Thomas meant.

"He... I thought I was good enough to cover for him in dire times like this."

"I'm sure he won't blame you for any of these."

 _Is that so?_

"Enough of this, I still have work to do."

"Need me to fetch something? Some water, maybe?"

Thomas guffawed inside. It's not everyday anyone offered him water when he's stressed, although he has done it to others quite a few times.

"No, thanks."

"Okay."

Thomas then calmed himself. He still have work to do, and he can only hope those replacements are actually worthy of standing in for the lost officers.


	25. Chapter 25: Second Chance

Judy wondered since when she became accustomed to gluing herself to the news. Maybe it was because after that one day when there's something big in town and she wasn't aware of it. Or maybe because of what she heard that evening after talking with Dawn about her past. And the news that followed until yesterday were plenty shocking.

First, doctors at the hospital where the savage mammals were quarantined agreed to a notion she herself believed, down to the letter. The resemblance between what little Gideon said to her and what the doctor spoke was so uncanny.

Then, yesterday news spoke of Mayor Douglas Bellwether having a talk with Deputy ZPD Chief Thomas Higgins about removing the predators from the force in response to the savage mammal cases, following another case of a predator cop going savage. And a few prey mammals threw a demonstration in agreement to Mayor's stance, in which a few of them ended up arrested for attacking predator officers.

"Good day, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Noon. I am Peter Moosebridge."

Looked like the news has started.

"Deputy Chief Thomas Higgins has supported Mayor Douglas Bellwether's proposal to have predator officers in ZPD removed in response to the savage mammals cases-"

 _So there will be fewer or even no more predators in the force, huh,_ Judy thought. She then reminisced about her wish to become a cop, and it hit her; Now that the number of cops in ZPD is dwindling, maybe she should give herself another try to go through the academy.

"-Due to the number of police officers suspended this way, Mayor Bellwether had hired a team of auxiliary police forces to support ZPD-"

Judy groaned. _There goes my dream_ , she cringed. She continued washing the dishes as the news rambled on about the auxiliary prey forces to support ZPD. But then she thought to herself; Just because right now ZPD's personnel shortage had been plugged didn't quite mean they'd just shut her out from the academy like the last time.

"-Following the suspension of all predators from ZPD, Zootopia Police Academy had decided to also dismiss all current predator cadets on account that they will not be eligible to work at ZPD upon graduation. In light of this, ZPA has reopened its admission for all interested prey mammals to join the academy to fill in the posts left vacant by permanent police officers who were removed-"

That was the exact motivation that Judy wanted. She promptly sped up; If she could clock out within thirty minutes, she might have enough time to rummage her apartment for everything she needed to apply to to academy again.

"-Mayor Bellwether had also laid off all predator staff from City Hall, which included Deputy Mayor Leodore Lionheart. It is understood that Mr. Lionheart had not been at his office since two days ago, the same day when he was called by Deputy Chief Thomas Higgins for questioning about Cliffside Asylum-"

Judy bolted off with a renewed determination in her heart.

* * *

Judy couldn't feel the fiery spirit she had when she headed to ZPA to submit her application to the academy.

When she finally got to submit her application, the rhino staff gave her a funny look, and she ended up blathering for who knew how long just to convince that despite her size, she was a capable mammal and she really, _really_ wanted to be a police officer. After all, she fought off a bear once, and besides there was a small predator in the force. The giggles she heard from a few other hopeful applicants wasn't helping the mood.

The rhino staff accepted her application and said that Judy would know the preliminary result within three days, but for some reason Judy worried that the rhino would probably toss the forms into a recycling bin. Hopefully not.

"Excuse me, miss bunny."

Judy jumped upon hearing that loud voice, and she found that a female polar bear was standing behind her. Then Judy also realized that she was right in front of the door that the polar bear was about to go through.

"Ah ha, my bad."

Judy reflexively kicked the door open to get out. It was good that it was a manual door that could swing either way; She practically rammed it on her way in earlier.

"Impressive."

Judy raised her eyebrows upon hearing the polar bear's praise as the large mammal made her way out behind her. Then Judy realized: This polar bear was likely among the expelled cadets. As Judy studied the bear's expression, she suddenly came to think about the predators. They likely would have spent some fortune to get in, just like how she had wasted so much money to try to enroll.

Judy wondered how she should feel. On one paw, the predators were more fortunate that they had been admitted to the academy, unlike her who had been repeatedly rejected. On the other paw, thanks to the current climate of predator scare, these predators had been denied the chance to complete their training to become real cops.

For some reason Judy harked back to Finnick. She snickered. Well, maybe he would indeed help these expelled predators to get some job somewhere, just like what he had done to her, however indirectly.

"Is there something funny, cottontail?"

Judy realized that she snickered perhaps too loudly for the polar bear to hear. Especially since they're still indoors.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend-"

Judy decided to throw an apology, but her smile vanished when she saw the bear's face. It didn't look like she was angry. Her expression, which was about the same as the one she wore when Judy first saw her, hinted more exasperation or melancholy.

"-I mean, uh, I, uh, kinda feel sorry that you, erm, got expelled."

 _Yikes, Judy, are you sure about saying that?_

"So you basically jumped at the chance to enroll the moment you heard the preds were," the bear's sharp inhalation was rather devoid of wrath, "dismissed?"

"Uh, actually, I guess you didn't know, but this is my third time trying to apply to the academy."

To Judy's surprise, the bear's expression turned into something akin to wonder.

"Persistent, aren't you?" the bear then chuckled dryly while opening the door to the outside, "Interesting. I never knew there's a bunny who has tried to enroll here multiple times."

The bear then slightly hunched towards Judy as they kept walking. And for some reason Judy didn't find a reason to jump back or bolt off pronto.

"You look pretty strong, I say. Not many little furballs can kick open that door so easily like that."

Judy became curious as to why merely opening a door was worthy of admiration.

"A real shame they don't admit you. You'd have made a good cop."

"Ah, thank you," Judy replied. It's rare for anyone to say she'd make a good cop.

"'Sides, it would've been good to have more mammals your size in town," the bear sighed, "The last time we had a little furball was a fox who graduated not too long ago."

"Fox?" Judy yelped, then covered her mouth upon realizing she might have been too loud.

"Oh, you know him?"

As she fidgeted, Judy nodded.

"I see," the bear smiled as if reminiscing, "Crazy fox, that Nicholas. The first small mammal to become a cop in, I dunno, years? I don't even remember the last time there was a small cop before him. But you really should see how determined he was wanting to become a cop."

"Uh, wait a second," Judy realized something amiss in the bear's words, "are you actually a cadet?"

The bear let out a guffaw, a cheerless one.

"I'm Friedkin, the academy instructor."

Friedkin held out a paw, though she retracted it promptly. Seeing that, Judy held out hers, and the bear nodded and shook paws.

"Sorry, I didn't know you're a staff at ZPA."

"Well, I was, anyway."

"Ah..."

"Don't think too much about it, bunny," Friedkin wistfully replied, "With what's happening right now, it's a surprise someone hasn't lynched me for talking to a bunny like you. And what's your name, by the way?"

"Oh," Judy reflexively held out her paw again, but before she realized it, Friedkin shook her paw again, "Judy Hopps."

The two eventually reached the gate. Judy stopped upon realizing that Friedkin was going the opposite direction from her. As the bear waved goodbye, Judy chose to follow, much to the bear's amusement.

"What are you doing?" Friedkin asked.

"Um, I dunno, just looking for someone to chat with?"

Friedkin bellowed a laughter amid Judy's giggling, though that laughter abated quickly.

"Are you crazy, huh, Hopps? Talking to a... pred whom everyone just assume can go crazy at any time?" Friedkin then turned towards Judy, "What can you do if that happens?"

"Oh, er, fend you off until the cops come to help?"

"Wow. Aren't you confident."

"Crazy, I know. But I did that once-"

Judy then realized she might have been blabbering too much, and decided to end with a nervous chortle.

"Why do you want to be a cop anyway?"

Judy froze upon hearing that question.

"Well... uh, because... I believe I can?"

"Sounds like you have another reason."

"Uh, haha-"

"Get away from her, you idiot!"

Judy and Friedkin turned to see the source of that yelling, a hog who came running towards the two and tried to yank Judy away.

"Hey!" Judy swatted the hog away.

"Are you crazy, bunny? Walking with a chomper like this, you wanna get eaten?!"

Judy was at a loss of words, while Friedkin sighed and walked away. After the bear was out of view, Judy looked at the hog with a look of half an annoyance.

"What? I'm just trying to help!" the hog protested, "What if that bear goes savage right on your face?"

"Oh, dear, you don't know whom you're talking to."

Judy snidely remarked as she turned around and left.

"Huh- Who do you think you are, little furball?"

 _Why is that hog the one screaming on top of his lungs when I'm the one face-to-face with a chomper?_ Judy rolled her eyes. But the moment she thought about Friedkin again, she pondered.

Back then with Helga, the bear was completely amicable when they first ran into each other, and the big mammal even offered an apology after a near-accident. And yet she was capable of turning mindlessly crazy not long after. It would seem that the theory about innate killer instinct in predators' DNA was real. Which meant she practically had gambled her life by talking with Friedkin for long minutes like that.

Judy then scoffed. She managed to save herself from a berserk bear cop. A savage Friedkin shouldn't be a problem.

* * *

Judy realized she had never paid full attention to the atmosphere of the city on most days. Only now she felt something was wrong with the city, namely, the scant presence of predators. Whenever she saw one, it was either a predator police officer who was unwelcome by anyone they interacted with, or a lone or small group of predators away from the bustles of the city.

The savage predator scare was slowly engulfing the city, it seemed.

Judy sighed. She already had one major thing in her mind, she'd rather not ponder too much about a problem that didn't quite affect her personally. She had resolved to do one thing once she got to her apartment.

"Hello, Judy, darling."

"Hiiiii, mom," Judy tried to sound cheerful as she masked a mild exasperation after pacing around waiting for almost a dozen rings before her parents picked up her call, "How're you today?"

"Oh, great! Just kinda busy the entire day," then Bonnie yelled to some other bunnies about a few things, "Our usual guests are here since morning."

"Those city sheep, you mean?"

"Yup. Stu's talking to them right now," Bonnie continued amid giggles, "They just bought some stuffs wholesale. I was worried for a second there they might clean up our food storage."

Judy guffawed.

"Kinda miss you, darling, I gotta tell you."

"I know, mom, sorry."

"You know why? One of the sheep is bringing his daughter along again," there was a pause, "Every time I see that tiny sheep, I'm always reminded of you."

"Aww."

"Such an adorable little daughter, she is, but so timid. I thought of telling your siblings to play with her since this is the first time she's in Burrows the entire day, but she's so awkward. I wonder if sheep with glasses are like that. I mean, you friend Sharla was extrovert, and she ain't wearing one."

"I don't think so, mom. I have a bespectacled sheep friend and she's not exactly a shut-in," Judy argued.

"Oh, you also have a sheep friend?"

"Yep."

"How cute. No matter Burrows or city, we have sheep in our circle."

The two laughed it out. Bonnie then appeared to be talking to someone else.

"Oh, hey, Stu, you're still busy? ... Oh, ok, Judy's on the phone ... Okay. So your dad's probably going to call you again later, those sheep's quite a work."

"I see."

"So, anyway, darling, why are you calling?"

"Oh, that," Judy realized she had digressed way off, "I tried applying to the police academy again today."

"Eh, I thought the admission period was over?"

"They reopened it due to some... uh, emergency situation."

"I see."

Judy wondered if her parents actually read the news. She decided not to probe further for now.

"Well, best of luck for you, darling. Would be great to see a Hopps cop."

"Thanks, mom."

Judy then spent some more time trading stories with her mom before they called it a day in all senses of the words.


	26. Chapter 26: Police In Training

"Day one of waiting."

Judy crossed off a date on her calendar. She didn't remember when the last time she felt so invigorated was. She told herself at times not to get too excited yet while waiting for a call from the academy. Hopefully this time she could get admitted.

"Hey, _watch it_!"

Judy slipped away in time before her neighbor Bucky tripped on her as she hopped off her room.

"Sorry, Buck," was all Judy gave as she blitzed off, heedless of the kudu's grumbles.

* * *

Judy's morning walk to her diner subdued her exhilaration somewhat. It felt dull, which normally would have been common fare, but somehow today's walk just felt off. And it made her more alert than usual.

A couple of horse schoolchildren were walking to a nearby school. A pig was opening his florist shop. A herd of wildebeests in factory uniform made their way to work. A buffalo cop was probably on his way to the ZPD. A moose was walking while talking on the phone.

 _So that's what's wrong._

Judy then pulled out her phone to see if there's any important news this morning. Not yet. The last significant news up until yesterday was that all predator officers had been dismissed from ZPD, and that the auxiliary forces Mayor Bellwether hired would commence duty today. There was utterly no news of savage predators for the entire day, although it might be just that it happened late last night like the case with Helga, and thus was still not reported this early in the morning.

The diner itself was already patronized by a few mammals early in the morning, and Judy just worked as well as she normally did. And the morning news was lacking in substance except for something the mayor said about continuously monitoring the state of the city in light of the savage mammal cases.

As morning grew late, the diner crowd subsided, and the traffic outside followed suit. Judy was setting the tables by the front door when she saw a commotion across the street. She first saw a couple of antelopes skipping backwards, their stance hinting they were fighting someone. And that someone was a lurching tiger who were clawing at them.

In mere seconds, Judy dashed out of her diner and give the tiger a swift kick on the face, and he was reduced to groaning in pain on the pavement.

Judy turned towards amazed faces of the antelopes.

"Whoa, bunny, that was-"

"Are you ok?" Judy cut off the antelope, noticing at the same time that the tiger was still curling up, "Did he go savage on you?"

"... No-"

" _Yes!_ "

Judy's concern gave way to exasperation, and she the found the tiger wasn't making an effort to stand up. _How strange_ , she thought.

"He- he attacked us."

"That's... all you can say?" Judy started to sound incredulous.

"Yeah, we, uh, were just walking down the street and we bumped into him and he just went nuts and tried clawing us! Yeah, that's... it."

Something about the speedy blathers made Judy wonder what's the deal with the antelopes, as she saw the tiger slowly get to a crouch, breathing heavily.

"What the hell... grazer..."

Judy was still surprised from hearing that whimper when she heard a police cruiser approaching. It was a big one, and accordingly manned by an elephant.

"All right, boys, what do we have here?"

The elephant scanned the herd of mammals after she got down. A group of shivering antelopes, a perplexed bunny, and a crouching tiger. The elephant immediately grabbed the tiger and cuffed him.

"What the- Hey, fuzz, I ain't doing nothing!"

"Oh, yeah?"

The elephant gave the tiger a wallop, and Judy instinctively cringed before looking back at the elephant.

"Then how do you explain about those scared antelopes, huh?"

The elephant threw the tiger in, at the same time mumbling "Chompers" as she prepared to leave.

"Ellie?"

The elephant realized Judy just called her.

"Huh, whaddya mean, bunny?"

"What, you don't remember me?" Judy pressed.

"No, bunny, I ain't got no deal with bunnies ever."

"Oh, right, you're a cop, huh," Judy chortled, "Funny. I never knew you're a cop. No wonder you just left me cold like that, huh?'

"Like I said, bunny, I got no business with you."

"You," Judy grew exasperated.

"You don't even remembering buying Jumbo Pops for me? For... my birthday?"

Judy wondered how she suddenly got the idea of making up facts.

"No, fluffbutt, you ain't needing that Pop except for your stupid pawpsicle-"

Ellie choked up as Judy tried to supress her giggle.

"For the last time. I. Ain't. Got. Bunny business. Now scram!"

And off the elephant went, with Judy frowning at Ellie's insistence. She shrugged and turned towards the antelopes.

"Is, uh, he gonnabe ok?"

That question jolted Judy. Didn't one of them just said the tiger attacked them? What's with the concern now all of a sudden?

"Uh... maybe?"

"Okay. Boys. Explain."

The antelopes froze when Judy threw that question.

"I'm all in to beat up savages who try to maul ya'all, but he's... not savage, for one, and why you're suddenly concerned about him sounds wrong to me," Judy then crossed her arms, "What's going on, exactly?"

The antelopes traded gazes among one another. One of them then pointed at something behind Judy and waved, prompting Judy to swivel her head. The sound of antelopes running behind her told her she's been had, but she also caught a glimpse of someone hiding behind a corner where the antelope pointed at. After a sprint, Judy found another antelope, whose shirt indicated he was of the same herd as the others.

"You're in their team?"

The antelope nodded after a few seconds digesting Judy's sudden question.

"So what's the deal with them? I thought they got attacked by that tiger and were kinda happy when I whacked him there-"

"This is so wrong."

A few seconds passed with Judy staring at the shivering antelope.

"He was an irritable tiger, yes, but we shouldn't- they shouldn't have jeered on him like that."

"In... other words," Judy began to understand, "You provoked him?"

"I told them not to do that!" the antelope sounded frantic, "I told them when we saw him, he was... distraught... so I told them leave him alone, but they then just called him crybaby and whatever, so he-"

The antelope buried his face in his hoofs.

"I'm sorry..."

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers," Judy shook her head, " _Now_ you tell me? You're all-"

Judy shook her fist as she decided to leave the antelope alone and made her way back to her diner, displeased after knowing what had just happened.

* * *

The noon news was just over and some of it left Judy in stupor.

First, two predators at Rainforest went savage in a span of a few hours, the morning after one entire day free of such incident. The cops caught one and were still on the hunt for the other as of broadcast time.

Judy harked back to the antelopes. Given that it had been established that predators could go savage at any moment, why did they think of picking a fight with a tiger? Even she wouldn't have been so foolish as to take on a tiger so carelessly despite her combat skills. And a savage tiger was a scary prospect; Not as scary as a savage bear, but the danger would still have been tremendous.

Next, the news talked about an aborted arrest involving a predator at Sahara. A police officer was about to detain another tiger who was thought to be acting suspiciously, but amid their scuffle, the celebrity Gazelle broke up the fight and chastised the cop for bullying the tiger, who was later known to be one of her companions.

Judy harked back to the tiger. If what the lone antelope said was true, the tiger was an innocent. But because he appeared to be threatening a few antelopes, Ellie arrested him right there and then. And the fact that Ellie just jumped into conclusion without asking anyone didn't sit well with her. Thinking back about Nick and the hyena, Judy wondered. Were predator cops predisposedly soft on predator criminals, and prey cops the opposite? Or was Ellie being too harsh there?

Judy was surprised when she realized how disturbed she was seeing someone else applying the same standard as her. Was she always a hypocrite like this?

The last set of news was that Mayor Bellwether was proposing a curfew in light of the savage mammal cases. Initially it was brought forward in response to the fact that predators tended to go savage late at night hours, but with the fresh morning cases today, Mayor likely would reconsider that.

Judy wasn't exactly bothered about the prospect of a curfew, other than that it might inconvenience her a little. Of course, the two savage predators this morning had already dispelled the notion that a curfew would be of any help. It was like what was currently understood: Preds could go savage anytime.

Judy finally clocked out that afternoon. As her manager had told her before, the diner usually wasn't so busy in late afternoon hours, and that she could come back to help during dinner time when the crowd picked up. Judy rarely worked nighttime, but for some reason she considered it this time.

The walk back to her apartment was mostly uneventful, except for the cloudy sky. And uneventful hours translated to an inattentive Judy. And an inattentive Judy was jolted by a yell behind her.

"Help! Thief!"

Judy perked up and whipped her head backwards right as a small mammal whizzed past her.

"Stop, you weasel!"

After looking alternatingly between the fleeing weasel and a distressed porcupine, Judy zipped right towards the weasel. The weasel, realizing that Judy was going to catch up with him, tried to speed up, but something he saw some distance away from him caused him to brake and scurry to the nearest turn. Judy didn't quite make out what it was that the weasel might have seen except that it was probably someone in red as she continued her chase.

Judy's pursuit was hampered by the weasel's throwing all manner of things on her way. She tried her best to ignore whatever bruises she might have sustained from those objects, focusing her rage into an ungodly speed.

 _Once I get you, weasel. You. Are. Dead._

Suddenly something rammed the weasel from his left into an alley, causing Judy to brake. When Judy regained her footing, she went into the alley to find Nick pinning the weasel to a wall.

"Oh, hi, Carrots," came his strangely nonchalant reply.

"Uh..."

Judy then looked around, and drew conclusion that somehow Nick had also given chase to the weasel from across the street. Or perhaps it was Nick whom the weasel saw that caused him to detour?

"You again... stupid fox?" the weasel was catching his breath.

"Hey, Judy, did this Duke do something again?" Nick questioned, pointing at the weasel.

"Duke, again?" Judy was processing the scene, though she began to grasp whatever was going on, "Oh, uh, well, he just pickpocketed a porcupine."

With a swift maneuver Judy rarely saw, Nick threw Duke to the ground and began patting him down while still keeping him restrained. It took maybe just three seconds for Nick to find a wallet in Duke's pocket.

"Judy," Nick then threw the wallet at Judy's paws to her surprise, "Help me check if that's the one."

Judy was befuddled, but she then understood Nick wanted to keep Duke restrained instead of risking the weasel escaping. After inspecting the wallet, Judy looked back at Nick.

"This is it," she said as she flashed the porcupine's ID in the wallet, "So, what now?"

"Good. Could you help holler a cop, or maybe just call them here?"

"Huh? Aren't you supposed to-"

Judy cut off her own question upon remembering about the layoffs.

"-I mean, I'm-"

"No need to feel sorry about it, Judy," Nick was unnervingly calm, "Just help me get a cop to arrest this weasel."

"What's wrong with you two?" Duke began protesting as Judy began scouting the outside, "You, fox, shouldn't you be at home munching donuts right now?"

"Not when you deny other mammals money to buy their donuts," came Nick's reply.

"Oh, so you know everyone needs money, huh?" Duke tried squirming, at the same time noticing Judy dialing, "So why don't you just let me be and get myself something to feed?"

"I wouldn't have been this hard on you had you just got yourself some job, you know," Nick held fast.

"I had one-"

Duke silenced himself quickly. That only attracted Nick's interest.

"So what, you used to work in a posh hotel or a huge office before being fired for stealing something?"

"None of your business, fuzzball!"

"How long ago was it though? I mean, you've even gotten so desperate that you started stealing moldy onions to eat-"

"Those are not food, those are- well, I dunno what those are, but I got paid big time for-"

Duke thrashed around, and Nick strengthened his restraint. Judy cringed; It looked quite painful.

"Paid for stealing them?"

Duke went quiet.

"You know, Duke, why don't you make it easy for the both of us and just explain why someone paid you to steal those Midnicampum holicithias bulbs?"

 _Whoah_ , Judy gawked. _What the heck is that thing?_ She then remembered about Nick's chase on the weasel, and recalled that the weasel stole from a florist. So whatever it was, probably plants.

"Minicap- huh, whatever it was. But I got paid for that, at least for a while."

"By who?"

"Not telling!"

Nick heaved a very heavy sigh, then turned Duke around and raised his paw.

 _Ouch, violent when off-duty, aren't you?_ Judy half-giggled, half-cringed.

"Okay, okay, fine!" Duke grimaced, "I dunno, someone named Jesse who just said he'd pay me for those plant stuffs. And before you ask, he never showed his face to me!"

"Better," Nick lowered his paw, "Then how did he pay you if you never saw him?"

"He just threw my pay out of a car."

"Okay, fine. So why did he stop paying you?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? He just vanished one day and I've never heard from him again"

Nick raised his paw again.

"I swear he really just disappeared one day and never told me why!"

Nick relented, at the same time noticing that Judy seemed to hear something.

"Cops?"

Judy nodded at that question as she peeked outside.

"How soon are they coming?" Nick continued, at the same time beckoning Judy to approach, to which she complied.

"In a few seconds, I think."

"Okay," Nick then gestured towards Duke, "Pin him down until the cops arrive."

As Judy does so, Nick then began whisking away.

"Wait!" Judy wanted to stop Nick, but realized that it might cause Duke to escape, "Uh, well, uh... I, uh-"

"If I get your curiosity right, Judy," Nick halted, though it was clear he would bolt off very soon, "Let's just say that... I never think that I have resigned. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feel that way."

And Nick disappeared into the alleys as a pair of cops and the distressed porcupine came into view. Judy handed Duke over to the cops, returned the wallet to the porcupine, and pondered about Nick once all those were sorted out.

Nick was right. She was actually thinking about asking how Nick felt now that he really was out of the force.

 _Well, they didn't fire you after that weasel fiasco._

Judy chuckled at herself. Who knew her sentiment was followed up with not just Nick, but every single predator cop getting sacked? She hadn't quite decided how to feel about it.

* * *

The dinner time was as busy as Judy's manager had warned her, but she handled her job well enough. That the patrons were among the most friendly Judy had ever seen all this time was a plus. It made serving them with a smile easier and more satisfactory.

But once the crowd subsided, Judy's smile began to falter as she mused over the lack of reply from ZPA. She tried to cheer herself up; After all, this was just the first day, and thus there were two left.

After pocketing her income for the night, Judy made her way back. It was quiet as usual, which made Judy wonder what would happen if a curfew really was enacted. She shook her head. What wasn't to be shouldn't be pondered about yet.

"Get away from me!"

Judy whipped her head around and realized that voice came from behind a corner as a wildebeest ran away from something. After darting past the corner, Judy came face-to-face with a hyena. And he probably wasn't just some random hyena, if his reaction upon seeing her meant anything.

"What? No!" the hyena recoiled, shaking his paw as his grip on a shopping bag appeared unsteady, "That wildebeest just ran away from me when we nearly bumped, I swear!"

Judy reflexively lurched forward, but she stopped after a step. Something in her mind troubled her.

"What's going on here?"

A rhino approached, and the hyena fearfully backed off only to hit a wall, nearly losing grip on his shopping bag, all while Judy watched.

"What's the problem?" the rhino looked alternatingly at the hyena and Judy.

"No, no no no, please, this is a misunderstanding!"

"Then explain."

The rhino's imposing figure right on top of the hyena was too much for the smaller mammal, and he collapsed onto the pavement sobbing.

"Look, boy, you're not helping your case when you just hunker down there crying your heart out without saying why," the rhino pressed, but otherwise hadn't made a move yet.

"Please, kid."

The hyena apparently didn't expect to hear such soft words from Judy, as while he was still sobbing, he gawked at her. The rhino took notice and turned to Judy.

"You know him, miss?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah," Judy smiled even as she was feeling wary, "Saw him once. He's a nervous wreck, sorry bout that, haha."

Judy then approached the hyena, who then shrank in fear.

"Hey, hey, no worries, kid, I'm not gonna bite."

"What do you _want_ now?"

Judy frowned upon hearing that yell.

"Looks like you've got history," the rhino chuckled before dropping his smirk soon after.

"Yeah," Judy then turned back towards the hyena, "Kid, just... say it slowly, in short, what happened. Okay? I'm not here to threaten you... ok?"

The hyena slowly relaxed. Judy noticed the rhino smiled, which baffled her. It was as though something she just did earned his approval. What for?

"I," the hyena started by pointing at something somewhere, "I just got out of that shop after buying this for my mom."

The hyena showed the content of his shopping bag. Some buns, jam, and cutlery.

"Then when I p-passed by this shop," he pointed at the shop right near them, "that wildebeest got out and I nearly bumped her, but then she j-just ran away screaming like that. I-I don't know what her problem is!"

Judy saw the rhino nod and she reflexively nodded in kind. The wildebeest had overreacted.

"Okay, I believe you."

The hyena was dumbfounded.

"You make it sound like he's a delinquent, miss," the rhino looked at Judy with what she thought was a look of disapproval.

"He, uh, ah, he got into the exact same situation some time back. Bumping into someone and someone made a big fuss about it."

 _The second someone was me, by the way._

"I see," the rhino relented, "Anyway, boy, you're going home now, right? Take care."

"Ah."

The two turned to Judy.

"Maybe... we, I mean, I can help you get home safely?"

Neither expected that offer from Judy, though the rhino seemed to have a guess.

"Uh, no... no thanks," the hyena had become calm enough to stand up and dust himself.

"Uh, miss, no offense here," the rhino interjected, "but you're smaller than even him. You sure you can escort him safely back?"

Judy shot a challenging gaze at the rhino.

"Trust me, big guy, I'm stronger than what you imagine."

"Eh, you know what," the rhino scratched his head, "Why don't I take both of you home? I have a car."

Judy and the hyena traded gazes after the rhino pointed at his car. Judy silently urged the hyena to accept.

The three eventually arrived at the hyena's house. The front was quite messed up, with tacky graffiti sprayed on the door and window, and apparently someone threw some stale food at the house.

"I have to say... this is messy," the rhino voiced his displeasure when comparing the defaced house with the pristine ones adjacent to it, "Do you know who did this?"

The hyena shook his head.

"Any idea why they did this?"

"I'm... not sure. But mom and I are the only preds at this block..."

Judy frowned. It's one thing watching out for predators because they could go savage anytime, but vandalizing with spray paint and foodstuffs felt like a senseless waste. Those would not do anything in case preds went savage.

"Anyway, boy, have a good night."

Not long after the hyena went in, the rhino started driving to Grand Pangolin Arms. With the rhino saying nothing during the trip, Judy reminisced about the day. At times she also glanced around inside the car. Something under the dashboard caught her attention, and she squinted, while the rhino apparently didn't notice.

"You're," Judy began to think it was a siren light, "a cop?"

"Oh, you found out," the rhino confirmed with a light chuckle.

"Ah, haha, well, I don't see undercover cops often enough-"

"Well, of course, miss. That's what undercover is ab-"

The rhino noticed Judy lost in thought.

"Something wrong, miss?"

"Ah," Judy snapped out of it, "Ah, well... it's just that... I know of an undercover cop, well at least I only realized she was an undercover cop when I saw her this morning after not seeing her for quite a while, haha."

"I... sure hope she didn't give you trouble," the rhino guffawed and Judy followed.

"That elephant was so good at undercover though, to the point of pretending not to recognize me."

"Heh, she sure took her undercover job seriously- Oh, and who was it?"

"The name? Oh, Ellie."

"Ellie? Huh, either one of the auxiliary cops or someone-"

"What?"

Judy's shock baffled the rhino.

"What's so strange about it, miss? I never talked to someone named Ellie, but then maybe someone in the force uses that name sometimes."

"Oh," Judy silently nodded at that, "No, well, it's just that when you said she could be an auxiliary cop, I figured she wasn't a cop actually."

"You know, miss, now I'm curious why you seem to be fixated on that Ellie."

"Well..."

Judy recalled about the tiger case this morning.

"Let's just say that she arrested a... bullied tiger."

"Arrested a," the rhino realized something, " _bullied_ tiger, you say?"

Judy then briefly described how some antelopes harassed the tiger, who lashed out at them and got arrested by Ellie as a result. Judy grimaced after deciding to miss out _one_ important detail.

"Geez..."

"Yeah," Judy concurred, "If it were Ellie and not you just earlier, that'd be another pred behind the bars."

"No kidding," the rhino huffed, "Looks like I'll need to inform the higher-ups to investigate about this potential abuse. Oh, and we're here."

"You... think so?"

"What do you mean, I think so, miss?"

The rhino looked at Judy.

"As police, our main duty is to protect and serve, not just beat up crooks at any given opportunity. Look at your tiger case, for example. Even if we suspect he's up to no good, one, he's still a civilian protected to a degree by the law, and two, if our assumption ends up wrong, that means we've beaten an innocent mammal. Hurting innocent mammals, especially deliberately, is one of the worst things a police can do."

 _As police, our duty is... not just beat up crooks at any given opportunity._

Judy compared her experiences with the hyena, the jackal and the tiger, with her aspiration to become a police officer. Of course, the hyena and the jackal did commit crime at that time, but the tiger?

 _But I think you have what it takes to be a cop._

Nick.

Judy buried her face in her paws upon remembering his encouragement. In light of what the rhino said, she had to concede that she was too violent. Even if Nick did plan to bludgeon Duke earlier, that wasn't his first course of action.

No, that's not all.

Nick probably could've arrested her back when he had found out she had beaten up the jackal at Tundratown. But he didn't. Was this why?

"Seems like that hit too close to home, huh, miss?"

"Huh? Oh, well... I just got reminded to another cop... or at least, he was one."

Judy looked at the rhino, who frowned wistfully in return.

"And what happened?"

"Oh, nothing much. We just, well, worked together to catch a pickpocket, but he... he just left after that."

"I see," the rhino nodded.

Judy figured she should get off now that she's already at her apartment.

"Anyway, thanks for the ride, sir."

"Pleasure's mine, miss."

After the rhino left, Judy made her way back to her room. Bucky and Pronk's quarrel was as loud as they had always been, and once Judy decided to get a rest, she slammed the wall to quiet the two. She was unsure how soon she'd doze off on account of the things she had in mind.


	27. Chapter 27: In The Dark

McHorn sighed as he was driving to HQ. He had been thinking about his conversation with that bunny last night ( _why didn't I ask for her name?_ ), especially about this Ellie who arrested a tiger who was just trying to defend himself, if the bunny's account was accurate. He recalled there had never been any female elephant being sent for undercover duty for a long time, so this Ellie was very likely one of the auxiliary cops.

He groaned upon recalling that he didn't fully memorize the list of the auxiliary cops when he asked Higgins about it. Either Ellie really was a pseudonym, or he just wasn't thorough.

But the bunny's account on how Ellie arrested the tiger bugged him. Apparently she was so gung-ho on catching a criminal that she had made little effort to verify the situation.

 _Hurting innocent mammals, especially deliberately, is one of the worst things a police can do._

Chief.

McHorn sighed upon remembering that Chief Clawhauser was the staunchest proponent of that ideal. Throughout his career, the rhino had seen or heard a few cases of some officers having been reprimanded, punished, or even dismissed by Chief for endangering civilians while on duty. He could only imagine what Chief would have done in this situation.

"Morning, Trunkaby," McHorn greeted the elephant on his way in.

"Morning, McHorn!"

McHorn tried to suppress his frown when he saw the receptionist desk. The lack of a chubby, snack-loving buffalo was depressing.

"Eh, Albert?"

McHorn knew that name, but he wasn't in the mood to check whom it was that the mammal was calling as he continued his walk.

"Shush! Just let him be, George."

 _What an odd thing to say_ , McHorn shrugged.

"Oh, hi, Jean."

"Hello too," and McHorn heard a sound of hoofsteps towards him, "Ey, McHorn."

McHorn turned to see Elxandre walking to him.

"Hey, Elxandre, how're you doing?" McHorn offered the elk a hoofbump which the elk reciprocated.

"Fine, 'suppose," Elxandre then pointed to something or someone behind McHorn, "Heard th'new chaps callin'e Albert, if I heard right."

"Oh, those new chaps-"

 _Hold on._

McHorn had only swiveled his head a little when he flinched and turned forward again. Elxandre was confused when he saw the rhino suddenly pick up pace and turned to a corner.

"Wait, McHorn, what-"

Elxandre stopped when he saw McHorn peeking from the corner. It seemed the hippo was alarmed at an ibex and a boar who spoke the name Albert earlier.

"How the hell are they here?"

"What? What d'you mean?"

"Higgins... Higgins."

Elxandre stood in silence as McHorn bolted off, unable to discern what just happened.

* * *

Leo walked back to his study desk after checking the outside from the blinds earlier. Things had been quiet around him, and not just because of the minimal lightings being turned on in his apartment.

He had been holed up in his apartment for a few days now ever since he was freed from Gary. No, freed definitely was not the right term. But at least until Deputy Chief Thomas Higgins summoned him for questioning, everyone probably really thought that he was kidnapped by the wolves. Being portrayed as a victim thus made it appear that he was unrelated to the illegal quarantine of the savage mammals, thus shifting the blame to Dr. Madge and the wolves.

 _I want you to discreetly scout Zootopia to anticipate cases of mammals going savage, capture any such mammal and bring them to Cliffside Asylum. Also, I want you to protect me and Dr. Madge during our dealings with the savage mammals until we figure out how to stop this._

When did they get the idea of expanding that order into protecting him from the cops? Leo wasn't really complaining, just baffled. He had asked Larry about it, and the wolf said protecting their contractor was part of the job by default.

Speaking of Larry...

While Leo was being escorted back by ZPD, Larry texted him asking if the lion could go to City Hall first. Leo was glad that he could convince the cops who escorted him to take him to his office en route home, saying that he needed to pack up due to his sudden departure. Once inside, Leo was surprised to find that Larry had wanted to sneak in to his office from the outside, but the wolf just told the lion, quietly, to let him do some scouring, at the same time urging the lion to pick up his work devices and get out fast. At one point Larry seemed to find something in the air conditioner, which Leo didn't ask then on account of Larry's urging to haste, thus the lion had left the office when the wolf was still inside.

And as per Larry's request, Leo had stayed home ever since then, only leaving when Higgins summoned him that time. It helped that Mayor Bellwether called him the morning after the questioning saying that Leo was not needed at the office without explaining why, though considering the widespread knowledge on the savage mammals, such a sentiment wasn't surprising. Even less surprising was that Ms. Clovins called Leo saying that Mayor had dismissed him; To the sheep, it must have been trivial.

Leo heard a beep on his phone. No, not his phone. The other phone, one that Larry gave him just some nights ago.

"Have you read the news, sir? The auxiliary forces seemed to have made quite a ruckus on their first day. Contact me as soon as you can if any cop knock. I'll update you again."

Leo sighed. Here he was, lounging in his apartment doing practically nothing but watching news, while Larry was out and about scouting the city for him. Leo had never asked Larry to babysit him like this, but didn't know what to make of his reason for doing so. He considered telling Larry that his job was done now that their operation at Cliffside Asylum had been terminated, but for some reason he didn't want to. Was he scared? Selfish? Undecided?

* * *

Thomas leaned backwards and rubbed his temples. So many thing had happened since yesterday.

Some of the auxiliary cops had made news for acting confrontational towards predators, and he had reprimanded them in kind. Especially as one of the harassed predators had ties with the celebrity Gazelle, who had requested if ZPD could spare some cops to keep watch as she planned to hold a peace rally in response to the current climate, and right now he's picking a list of officers to send there.

Thomas hadn't had the idea on how this current anti-predator sentiment could be curbed. Even worse was that based on what Ben had told him, the conditions of the savage mammals, especially Frank, hadn't improved.

There was some loud knocking on the door.

"Come in."

McHorn entered the room and swiftly locked the door behind him, perplexing the hippo.

"Higgins, how did we have them in the force?"

"Them?" Thomas furrowed, "Which them?"

"I saw Harold and Swenson at the lobby earlier."

"Huh? Who?"

McHorn looked like he almost blew up, but cooled himself off quickly.

"Sorry... I think I should have their names written on my report a few days ago."

"Your report," Thomas gawked upon remembering what McHorn had done before, "on the Bismarcks?"

"Yes! That one!"

"Wait, wait a second... those two guys are Bismarcks?"

"I'm sure of it," McHorn wiped his head in anxiety, "They even called me Albert."

Thomas nodded as he added, "And we know your name isn't Albert."

"And that was the name I used back then when I was undercover at Rainforest."

Thomas sat down, trying to sort out this information.

"Mind if I check the list of the auxiliary cops again?"

"Yes," Thomas realized he answered reflexively, but to him, that was as good an answer as any, "Yes."

McHorn just turned around when he recalled something.

"What do you assign those auxiliaries these two days?"

"Patrols. Only city patrols. Except for you and Rhinowitz, the rest of us work at HQ."

"Good."

And the rhino just bolted off, with Thomas only guessing that he would be heading to the records. Thomas' mind still reeled from the fact that there were several Bismarcks among the auxiliary cops. Was this coincidence? Were the auxiliary cops tied to the Bismarcks? How related were they to the gang as a whole? And how could they so deceive the mayor that he trusted them well enough to work as replacement cops?

 _Wait._

The Bismarcks were based at Rainforest, and Mayor went there once. How much did Mayor Bellwether actually knew about the Bismarcks or whether these cops were related to them?

Thomas could only hope that the worst case scenario he had in mind wasn't the case here.

* * *

"Good day, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Noon. I am Peter Moosebridge."

Leo huffed. It's been a few days since the last time there were two anchors at ZNN Prime Time. Apparently the snow leopard had also been sacked in the midst of this anti-predator climate.

"Another attack by a savage predator occured just an hour ago at Tundratown, with a caribou critically injured by a polar bear. Neither ZPD nor City Hall have given a statement as of press time regarding this latest case which claimed a victim."

 _This wouldn't have happened had we not been busted._

"In another news, pop star Gazelle is currently holding a peace rally at the Central Stadium, urging the populace to calm down and not treat predators with hostility."

The view then switched to Gazelle being interviewed with one of her tiger companions nearby.

"I love Zootopia. It's an amazing place where we, so many different mammals, live together in the same city. I know it's not a perfect place, but we've been able to coexist for this long, and we've been able to settle our differences little by little towards the future where Zootopia can truly be a place where everyone, prey and predator, can live in harmony. So why are we doing this now? Why are we blaming the predators for attacks perpetrated by a few? Why are we assuming that predators are inherently savage? This... is just not how I envision Zootopia. There has got to be a way to solve the current crisis without just blindly branding all predators as dangerous."

Leo wanted to scoff at the gazelle, but then again, what could anyone else say about it? Nobody knew why the predators went savage, and Leo had hoped that he could have kept them out of view until they were cured. ZPD's raid came just way too early.

Leo then went to the kitchen to cook himself something. As he sorted his ingredients, his mind drifted back to Larry.

After Leo left City Hall that night, he didn't hear anything from Larry until he returned from Higgins' questioning, during which he was startled to find Larry breaking into his apartment without his notice. Leo was fearing what the wolf might or would have done, but instead, Larry merely briefed Leo about the situation so far, and asked the lion to remain home due to the hostile climate, at the same time giving that phone for direct contact between them.

 _Are you... not mad?_

 _No, sir._

Larry didn't show the slightest anger or disappointment when Leo told him about Gary, or when Leo asked him about his packmates. Occupational hazard, he said.

Considering the situation with ZPD, Leo couldn't help but imagine Larry's packmates were all goner by now. And with that said, he really didn't believe the wolf didn't harbor any ill will towards him somehow. After all, he wasn't their first client, and from what he had studied about the pack, never had they suffered such a significant setback, and never they would ever if not for this job. And Leo had heard cases where a wolf pack that lost its member tended to become dangerously vindictive.

A sting on his finger snapped him out of his thought. He sighed and proceeded to dress the cut. Perhaps this pondering would have to wait.

* * *

After telling Krumpanski to watch over the office in his stead, Thomas rushed to the records office.

If what McHorn had told him earlier was right, he was immensely glad that he didn't let the newly-hired auxiliary cops work in the office. Who knew what such crooks might do at HQ?

But what really troubled Thomas was that he didn't remember seeing Harold and Swenson in the list of names Mayor gave him. What happened, actually?

And this was the first time ever in his life Thomas found the records office to be locked up. His knock was answered by a few clicks, a carefully-opened door, and a hoof that dragged him inside.

"Sorry, but I'm still not done."

McHorn headed back to a stack of documents as soon as he locked the room. Thomas imagined a few possible reasons for McHorn to dismiss whoever was in the records office earlier.

"You want my help?"

"Thanks, but no need," McHorn shook his head before continuing his read, "So far I've seen five faces that I think I've seen at Bismarcks."

"Wh-," Thomas quickly composed himself, "That many?"

"Yeah. Including those Harold and Swenson."

McHorn handed over two dockets he had set aside. Thomas opened one labeled Rico Parkson which had a photo of a boar.

"That," McHorn spared a glance as he kept working, "is Swenson. Part of Bismarck's combat squad, led by Hogson, who went to the raid at the Cloud Alley prison that night. Though I don't think he was there during the raid."

Thomas gulped, and opened the other docket, an ibex named George Crambert.

"And that's Harold," McHorn then stopped while examining the docket he's currently holding, "Isn't this... Jim?"

Thomas took a look. The docket was labeled Timothy Oxlane.

"Anyway, Harold's a small-time henchmammal. If I remember right, he's mostly a debt collector. As for Jim, not much I know, but I've seen him at one of the Bismarck bases before."

"Just..."

McHorn spared a glance at Thomas.

"Did Mayor really do a background check on these guys?"

"If you're asking me, I have no clue."

"Have you... have you maybe seen Mayor Bellwether around Bismarck territory?"

McHorn slowed down as he tried to recall. He eventually shook his head. Thomas nodded.

"Oh, in case you want to read," McHorn then grabbed a file and gave it to Thomas.

"This," Thomas read the title, "This is your findings during your undercover work."

"Precisely. Check page 16."

Thomas did as McHorn ordered. There, he found a list of biodata summaries of a few Bismarck goons McHorn had found. A few names contained photos of the goons, and as McHorn later showed, one of them indeed was the same mammal who was among the auxiliary cops.

After a few minutes, Thomas decided.

"Ok, McHorn, I need two things from you."

"Say it."

"Help me compile all this data of auxiliary cops who had ties with the Bismarcks."

"Help you?" McHorn found that exact sentence odd, "What do you mean?"

"After you get all the list compiled, I want them stored in two devices, one I'll keep, and another you'll take with you."

McHorn's surprise was obvious.

"Because this ties with the second thing."

"Which is?"

"Once you're done with this, starting tomorrow, or tonight, even, don't come back to HQ."

"What?!"

"Get in touch with our predator friends."

McHorn grew more perplexed.

"Now that we know some, possibly most or even all of these auxiliary cops are in cahoots with the Bismarcks, I need someone- I need to have them monitored. That's why you need to get in touch with our predator friends, as I don't want to spread our already thin official force out just for investigation. Take lead of this investigation, and tell them I've given you the authority to take charge and that they can report their findings to you, and you relay them to me."

Thomas took a deep breath.

"At the same time, I'll have Mayor Bellwether under my watch. I'm just hoping he's just unaware that his hoofpicked auxiliary forces are actually gangsters."

McHorn scratched his head, but decided not to argue further as he continued his work in preparation of this latest undercover work.

At the same time, Thomas huffed. Was that the right order? Was he being too cautious? _Nevermind._ He had given the order, so he would trust McHorn to execute it. If he could find sufficient evidence that these auxiliary cops were Bismarck goons, among other things he could argue to the mayor to stop meddling in ZPD's business and let him run it in a better way during this crisis.

No. He probably only wanted the suspended cops back because he had grown so accustomed to them. Thomas could only sigh. When had he become so sentimental?

"And one more thing."

McHorn tried guessing.

"In case they object to my order, let me know. I'll try to find an alternative."

McHorn furrowed. Thomas could guess his confusion.

"They're already under peril for being predator civilians, at least officially. Having them snoop around enemy territories without legal protection is just-"

Thomas chuckled.

"Heh. I told them I suspended them in accordance to Mayor's orders because I didn't want them hurt. Now I'm sending them straight to danger like this. What is wrong with me?"

"Higgins. Enough."

Thomas raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

"Seriously, ever since Chief Clawhauser ... went away, you've been all moody like this."

"I know," Thomas then made his exit, "Clawhauser would have said this is occupational hazard. But if you're dead because of occupational hazard, you're still dead regardless."

Thomas then left McHorn at the records after the two joylessly laughed at that. Thomas then went back to chief's office, saluting Krumpanski in gratitude on his way. Things were about to get messy, that much he could tell.

* * *

Leo huffed as he closed the window blinds. Night had fallen, and Zootopia had gone quiet, so his observing the outside from his bedroom obviously was of little use. He would need to wait for Larry if he wanted some news. The ones he heard from ZNN Prime Time Evening earlier barely counted as information; There was no news yet that Mayor would make a move.

He then heard a soft thud from his study. Having been accustomed to seeing Larry break into his apartment so casually these past few days, Leo was quick to assume it was the wolf again, but nevertheless he remained cautious as he came closer.

"Sir, grocery's here."

It was indeed Larry. Leo picked up his pace towards the study and found the wolf hunching over a desk, having put the grocery there. That hunching alarmed Leo.

"Larry, you ok?"

"Yes, sir."

Larry's deadpan reply was in stark contrast of his torn clothes.

"Wh- what-"

Without delay, Leo dashed towards some shelves and grabbed some first aid, quickly grabbing Larry by the arm before the wolf bolted off again.

"What happened?"

Leo was about to take some bandage when Larry grabbed the first aid kit, walked to a corner and patched himself up.

"Another savage predator, sir."

"... I see."

Leo stood by in silence as Larry continued his treatment.

"Look, Larry," Leo then gaze around, unsure if his words would be the right choice to say, "I appreciate your help, I really do, and I don't mind forking out my money to pay you for your work. But..."

Larry only spared a glance.

"Our deal is already... over. And I'm sorry if I were to put it that way. But..."

Still no word from Larry.

"I'm sorry. I-"

Something came up in Leo's mind. He then tried composing himself as he tried to convey that dreadful thought.

"If not because of this job, I think you... you'd still have your pack," Leo took a deep breath, stuttering in either regret or fear, he himself wasn't sure, "I'm sorry."

"No need for you to apologize, sir."

 _Those words again_. Leo still refused to believe the wolf really didn't hold anything against him.

"But if that's what you think, sir, then let me be honest as well."

 _Good. Things have gone to hell, might as well I hear your grievance._

"I'm helping you because you are, or at least were, a high-ranking official, and you are the only mammal in town who knows about us. So, why don't we consider it another deal? I keep watch over you, and in return, once our deal with the savage mammals is done, you bail them out."

Leo gaped befuddled.

"Uh, well," the lion scratched his mane, "Okay, I can vouch for your pack so that they can get out as soon as possible. But our deal with the savage mammals is already done."

"No, I think not," Larry packed up the first aid kit.

"Well," Leo remembered the order he gave the wolves, "Yeah, well, sure, the savage mammals are still savage, and we still haven't figured out the cause and the cure, but now that Dr. Madge is in jail and those mammals are treated at the hospital, the case is no longer in our hands. You shouldn't endanger yourself further now that we are no longer in position to fix this problem."

"Given that we still haven't had an idea how to put an end to the savage mammals case, sir," Larry then began to leave, "I say the deal still stands."

"... Until we figure out how to stop this?"

Larry nodded at Leo's hesitant answer before he flew into the night, leaving the lion wondering if other mercenaries might have done the same thing if they were in Larry's situation. He sighed. For now, he would continue to stay at home and watch the world from inside.


	28. Chapter 28: Lawless

Wolford was standing by with a fellow wolf in some dim corner.

Ever since predator officers were suspended from ZPD, Wolford understood that a few of them, including himself, had remained on the prowl in the shadows of Zootopia, doing their best to maintain peace in the city. Either they had been too successful at being secretive or nobody bothered since they were predators, but he had yet to hear their bravado being broadcast in the news.

Being an unsung hero had been part and parcel of police duty, Wolford felt. But in light of what happened last night, it would seem he, or rather they, would have to step into the light.

McHorn had sought him out without telling him in advance, a very unusual behavior. Wolford would have chalked it up to the fact that predators were currently under unfavorable scrutiny that the rhino didn't announce his visit, but McHorn's seemingly hunting him down told stories about what the rhino had wanted to discuss.

And now, armed with what McHorn had told him about the auxiliary cops, Wolford had gathered a few fellow former officers to first spread the word about Higgins' order, then to gather evidence to confirm that the auxiliary cops Mayor Bellwether had assigned to ZPD were actually the Bismarcks.

Wolford saw Grizzoli and another wolf approach.

"Delgato's in. I think only Snarlov's left."

Wolford nodded.

"McHorn's going to get him."

"I see."

Grizzoli was lifting his paw halfway when he remembered something.

"You said you're following up on Delgato's investigation?"

"Yes."

"Anything new worth sharing?"

"Aside from preliminary suspicion, no."

Grizzoli nodded. He once asked Wolford why the grey wolf was interested in following up that case, and the latter answered that his smaller size compared to Delgato and Fangmeyer would have helped in the current climate. The wolves then traded salutes before going on their respective ways.

* * *

Larry was taking a rest at the top of an apartment complex. He had just returned from his visit to the Zootopia Prison, but he couldn't glean much about his pack or Dr. Madge from the far outside. This was despite his visiting during what should have been break hour, when the prisoners would have been hauled to an open field for some inmate activities.

He had never seen them ever since that night when Dr. Madge urged him to flee.

Was that the right move?

Then again, even if he were to defy that request, based on what the news reported the morning after, ZPD had gone all out in their raid at Cliffside. Having six combat personnel against that much force would be no different from having five, especially with a few of them still not yet in their prime after their... messy encounter with the ZPD chief. Still, he wished he could have done something to keep them out of ZPD's clutches. And he had hoped there had been a more successful way to get Lionheart out without sacrificing Gary.

It was Gary's own idea that he would drive Lionheart out before ZPD came. Unfortunately, it was an unsuccessful endeavor. But at least based on what Lionheart told him, Gary's idea had for now managed to keep the lion out of arrest, helped with the fact that Larry had gone and erased traces of Lionheart's dealings with them. It was like what Larry told Lionheart last night; As long as the lion remained free, Larry could try to use him to bail his pack out.

Larry winced. His patched-up injuries just decided to ache.

 _Time to move, I guess._

* * *

Snarlov checked his home, ensuring that he hadn't missed out anything before going out. He still couldn't believe that McHorn braved the cold Tundratown night just to reach him, but what the rhino told him was no less mind-blowing.

Based on what McHorn told him, it would be likely that those auxiliary cops would be out on patrol. And Snarlov had informed as many ex-officers at Tundratown he could gather to keep watch on them, hopefully to catch them doing something, anything that would mark them as Bismarcks.

Snarlov had asked to meet Andersen and a few more fellow ex-officers to meet at the Flurry, and he was carefully making his way to their rendezvous point.

Then he heard a commotion and screams from the open streets. Snarlov sighed as he made his way to the source: A couple of prey mammals running around frantically as a snow leopard tried to maul anyone he could reach. Another savage mammal.

In the span of about a minute, Snarlov tackled the snow leopard and eventually softened and restrained the savage. Breathing heavily, he looked around to see a myriad of faces. Faces of awe. Fear. Confusion. And a few mammals taking pictures.

Snarlov frowned. How could some mammals still have time to take photos of a crisis?

"Uh... mister, are you ok?"

"Hush, quiet!"

A young hippo was immediately silenced by her mother. Her question triggered sudden pain; Snarlov didn't quite realize how much the snow leopard injured him.

"I'll call the ambulance!"

"What? Are you kidding?"

"He is hurt, stupid!"

"But what if he goes savage on your face?"

"I've called the cops."

Cops. The auxiliary cops. Snarlov considered his options as the snow leopard tried to break free.

He was hoping that there were more large, or more importantly, able-bodied mammals around, rhinos, elephants, whatever, whom he could perhaps ask to pin down the snow leopard until the cops arrive while he made his exit. He didn't want to stay until the cops arrived, given that from what he had heard, these prey cops preyed on predators, especially with the possibility that they were Bismarcks. But he also didn't want to leave the snow leopard unchecked. And he definitely didn't want to knock him out altogether; Either the snow leopard would come to before the cops arrived, or he'd never wake up.

"Uh, anyone has... rope or something?" Snarlov eventually settled with that idea.

The spectating mammals threw gazes among themselves. Many of them shook their heads.

"I, uh, I do," a beaver eventually spoke up as he pointed to a nearby hardware store, "I work there."

"Thanks. Get me some for this guy," Snarlov was interrupted by the snow leopard's squirming, "please."

The beaver got some rope from his store, but was hesitant to approach Snarlov to give it. The beaver eventually just threw the rope upon Snarlov's urging, and the bear quickly tied up the snow leopard. That restraint didn't stop the snow leopard from thrashing.

Snarlov then noticed an oncoming cruiser. He immediately reached for his pocket and dashed towards the direction of the beaver.

"Keep the change."

The cowering beaver was left confounded once he realized Snarlov had left some cash on his paws as the polar bear hasted to the alleys. Snarlov continued his run, guessing that the auxiliary cops were likely muzzling the snow leopard and hauling him into the cruiser right now, and after that they'd probably hunt him down too.

"Andersen, I ain't coming," Snarlov immediately called Andersen, "Got some cops to lose."

"You ok?" Andersen realized Snarlov was breathing heavily not only from running.

"Bit roughed, but I'm ok," Snarlov then moved to another spot, "Got a savage mammal."

"Should I meet-"

"I'll call you again if I need to meet you later," Snarlov cut off Andersen as he scrutinized his surrounding in case someone's watching.

"... Okay. Be careful."

Snarlov huffed. Time to seek refuge somewhere until he could confirm the cops, or for that matter, any unwanted mammal, were no longer on his trail.

* * *

Nick was making his way to somewhere around Riverside, to where Fangmeyer lived. The tiger had only told him Delgato wanted to discuss something.

Eventually Nick arrived at the supposed rendezvous point to find absolutely nobody. At least the alleys were pretty protected from the outside.

"Psst, Wilde."

Nick gazed up to a slightly opened window on a second floor. Upon seeing an outstretched tiger arm, Nick made his ascent. The moment he grasped the arm, he was pulled inside before the window was slammed shut, and Nick realized he was in a bedroom.

"You're early," Fangmeyer remarked as she beckoned Nick to another room, "Delgato's scouting out right now, he'll probably be back in five minutes."

Nick nodded, though he suppressed his giggle when considering his situation.

"Should I wait for Delgato for the briefing or can I hear it from you?"

"It's about those auxiliary cops," Fangmeyer immediately began, "Have you seen them?"

"Er, a few, but I can't say I know much about them," Nick huffed, "Except for the one who bullied Gazelle's tiger of course."

"Well, at least we're all good with the news," Fangmeyer sighed, "But I bet no one told you we're suspecting those auxiliaries to be Bismarcks, right?"

Nick gawked to none of Fangmeyer's surprise.

"Wait, you mean, those goons we raided that night? They're cops now?"

"Surprising, no?"

There was a knock from outside the window, and Fangmeyer answered it. Soon after, the tiger was followed by Delgato and Grizzoli, with Delgato entering the living room looking a bit sheepish until Grizzoli jabbed him.

"Thanks for accepting the invite, Wilde."

Indeed it was Grizzoli who invited Nick to hear the news. The fox was prowling Zootopia when Grizzoli spotted him and asked if Wolford or McHorn or anyone had shared with him the news, thus the invite.

"So, to recap what Wolford told me what he got from McHorn," Grizzoli began, "we're told that the newly-hired auxiliary cops turned out to have been Bismarck goons who likely had been laundered. So naturally, Higgins wants them removed, and thus we now need to monitor them to find evidence of their identity so that Higgins can use that to overrule Mayor's orders on the auxiliary cops. McHorn will be our point of liaison with Higgins."

Everyone in the room nodded. Fangmeyer then recalled something.

"Looks like Prime Time Noon's soon."

Everyone nodded.

"Good day, Zootopia, and welcome to ZNN Prime Time Noon. I am Peter Moosebridge."

"That reminds me," Delgato mused, "I haven't seen any pred news anchor this past few days."

"Eh? You're right," Fangmeyer concurred.

"Eh, well, uh, never mind, just saying," Delgato stuttered it out, eliciting curious stares from everyone present.

"Mayor Bellwether had issued a proposal to have a portion of Zootopia western cityscape to be retooled into predator-only residential district. He urged that this proposal is to curb incidents of predators going savage and endangering the populace at large. It is understood that the city council is currently discussing this proposal, although Mayor had wanted this approved as soon as possible."

"Just-," Nick realized he nearly blew up and he cut himself off as the other three glanced at him.

"We all feel the same way here, Wilde," Grizzoli continued, and the felines nodded in agreement.

"Zootopia General Hospital has officially announced the resignation of Dr. Buckton, their physiologist, citing personal reasons. Dr. Buckton has not been reachable as of press time, but his colleague, Dr. Creekmare, stated that Dr. Buckton's resignation was related to the savage mammal case. It is understood that the savage mammals still haven't shown signs of recovering from their state, and Dr. Creekmare speculated that that was the reason Dr. Buckton quitted."

"Well, talk about setback," Delgato hummed.

"Yeah. With fewer doctors working on the case, how are we going to find the cure?" Grizzoli chimed.

Nick knew that despite their cool-headed response, his three coworkers were concerned about the savage cops. Chief, for example.

"Another predator, a snow leopard, had gone savage this morning at Tundratown. According to eyewitnesses, the snow leopard emerged from an alley attacking anyone in range, but a polar bear stepped in and subdued the savage leopard. The bear then fled the scene before police arrived, his identity yet to be confirmed. A few eyewitnesses speculated that the polar bear might have been a member of the Koslov family, who were known to be an influential presence in Tundratown."

"That's... Snarlov," Fangmeyer concluded based on the pictures of the bear shown on screen.

"Yikes, I think I should check on him," Delgato spoke upon seeing some claw wounds on Snarlov.

"Figures," Grizzoli shrugged, "If I heard right, even Chief Clawhauser didn't get away unscathed when that cougar went savage on him."

"No, if that cougar had been a gangster goon, I'd reckon Chief wouldn't have issues knocking him out cold without a fuss," Fangmeyer argued.

"That's true- Huh, Wilde, something wrong?"

Nick realized he was lost in thought when Grizzoli called to him.

"Well, it's just that when the news said about Koslov... they don't get along with the Bismarcks, right?"

"Uh," Delgato then realized something, "That's... true, actually."

"What is, Dig?" Fangmeyer got curious.

"Wilde has a point," Delgato seemed to be on the verge of chuckling, "I'm just wondering what might happen if the Koslovs knew that their enemy are now legal enforcers."

The four of them stood in silence, musing about that strangely interesting scenario.

"But then even if they know that the Bismarcks are now cops, what can or what will they do about it? I mean, to them, cops are trouble one way or another," Grizzoli argued.

"Can't disagree with Griz," Fangmeyer chimed.

"Erm, the Koslovs would probably think of the current cops the same way as how they thought of us, but what about what the Bismarcks think of the Koslovs?" Delgato offered his opinion.

"How much do those gangs know of each other, though?" Nick wondered.

"Well, at least they're on unfriendly terms," Grizzoli tapped his chin.

"Still, depending how often they get involved in a fight, their individual goons probably remember each other," Delgato speculated.

Amid thinking about it, Nick noticed Fangmeyer was looking at him. Might be his nodding that clued her.

"Eh, no, sorry, forget I think about it," Nick blurted.

The other three snickered.

"How are we going to forget something you haven't even told us, Wilde?" Fangmeyer asked.

"What's it about?" Grizzoli pressed.

Nick just knew the idea he just had wouldn't sit well with his three seniors.

"Well, about what the two gangs would think of each other now that the Bismarcks are in the force," Nick hesitated, "What will happen if we were to... actively cause them to meet?"

The other three traded gazes among themselves, having a rough idea what Nick might have meant.

"Like... I dunno. I, uh, you know I know of a jaguar in the Koslov-"

"Oh," Fangmeyer understood what Nick meant, "No, Wilde, no."

"Yeah," Nick drooped, "Sorry, heh heh. Stupid idea."

"More like crazy," Grizzoli smiled, "I'm with Fangs here, but even so your idea is still better than conceding to those Bismarck goons and holing up in Mayor's pred ghetto."

"Actually" Delgato interjected, "that idea might be helpful."

"What? Dig, you can't be serious in having Wilde infiltrate the Koslovs just for this?" Fangmeyer argued.

"Of course not, Fangy," Delgato tried to calm her down, "I know Wilde's no pro at undercover, especially sneaking into the Koslovs. But at least his idea of baiting the two to clash... I kinda like that actually."

The four mulled over that.

"Well, ok, I guess we can try relaying this to Higgins," Grizzoli concurred.

"I think it might be a good idea to relay this to Snarlov or Andersen as well," Fangmeyer chimed.

The boys nodded.

"All right, I think we've discussed enough," Delgato concluded before the boys decided to disperse, "Talk to you all again later."

* * *

Larry had just finished his visit to Lionheart's apartment that night. He sometimes wondered how the lion would feel about his grocery-shopping for him, buying the same things for the lion these past few nights based on the rare few times he had seen the lion's daily routine. That aside, he wondered if Lionheart was imagining just how the wolf managed to do grocery-shopping at all right now.

But Larry wasn't sure what to feel about Lionheart's constant nagging on his feeling about his pack being arrested. And the lion's concern about his well-being also felt... intrusive, if that was the right word.

Larry only repeatedly told himself he was helping Lionheart out of contract. Or something like that.

His aches jolted him. He just couldn't believe how painful it was to scuffle one-on-one with a savage bear last night. Or maybe he was so heavily reliant on his pack that he couldn't subdue the bear efficiently. After all, it didn't appear that the bear was a trained mammal, a far cry from the ZPD chief.

Larry cringed. That the berserk cheetah didn't manage to kill anyone in the end was a miracle.

Larry sighed and made a move, but then he realized there was someone nearby, possibly several. He decided to seek cover, at the same time scrutinizing the darkness. He then whipped his head the other way and skulked off, certain that he was being followed. But soon after, Larry realized that he had been surrounded for longer than he had expected. Immediate escape might not be wise.

"What is it?"

A slow clapping came from the dark.

"I've suspected that you may be related to those wolves at Cliffside."

A grey wolf slowly emerged, but Larry could tell there were at least two or three more wolves around. He didn't stop analyzing his surrounding in hopes he might find a way to escape.

"Normal perps wouldn't have expected our presence like this," the grey wolf stopped, his paw making what Larry suspected were command gestures. "but I digress. What's your business with Lionheart?"

Larry remembered his talk with Dr. Madge about their involvement with Lionheart. The badger had suggested that should their clandestine operation get exposed, she would take the blame so that Lionheart, as authority, could still pursue ways to solve the problem.

Though Larry wondered when Dr. Madge began thinking that way. Was it when he told her that his pack's motto was to protect their contractors as part of their jobs by default?

"Mostly checking if he's got a clue on whom he can ask or what he knows to deal with the savage mammals."

"And why's that of any importance to you?"

"Why do you ask when you yourself are a pred?"

"Cut the crap," the grey wolf surprisingly didn't raise his voice even as Larry could tell he was annoyed, "Before you have any ideas, your presence around Lionheart means that that badger isn't the real mastermind of your Cliffside business. She can't pay you from jail, and she shouldn't have known when exactly she'd get busted. Which means whatever your reason is for taking care of Lionheart, it means he actually knows about you better than what he told Higgins. Or to put it plainly, he's the actual honcho."

 _Damn. These cops are more thorough than I thought._

"You make it sound like you're actually his bodyguards."

"No, just doing cop duties."

Larry sighed. So far he could tell the other wolves were circling the perimeter instead of just watching. Escaping right now was not an option, especially taking note that the grey wolf was not only the packleader, but also a very skilled mammal.

"Again, normal perps would've already zipped. You really are one of those Cliffside wolves, huh?"

 _Haah. Busted._ Larry instinctively clutched his shoulder, but let go soon after.

"Now that I think about it," Larry recalled Lionheart's account on how Gary was busted, "You must be the wolf who saved Lionheart that night."

The grey wolf chuckled, and Larry chuckled in kind.

"At first I did think I saved him, but now I'm wondering who or what I saved him from," the wolf shook his head, "I was told one of the Cliffside wolves escaped our raid that night. It's you, right?"

"Why do you ask me when you're already sure of the answer?"

Another wave of chuckles.

"So what do you want?"

"How much do you know about the new cops?"

Larry didn't expect that question.

"Shouldn't you, a cop, be the one checking on them?"

"I am. But if you don't mind offering assistance, I'll tell the current chief that you're assisting with our investigation, and he might help you with your pack problem."

 _Oh, really._ And yet at the same time, Larry thought telling the cops about how much he had known about the auxiliary cops neither help nor hamper his predicament in the end. Those auxiliaries would still be on patrol anyway.

"I've seen them haul off preds, that much I can say. Not bothered to remember who got locked up, none of my business so far."

"And have you perhaps ever seen those auxiliary cops before they got on cop duty?"

"I don't think so," Larry exhaled a deep breath.

"What does Lionheart know about them?"

Silence.

"Again, I can already tell Lionheart is your boss, so no need to try saying that you're babysitting him out of someone else's orders," the grey wolf pressed.

"He has no clue."

"Really?" the grey wolf smirked, a rare flash of teeth, "Just tell me what he knows. I can perhaps help you check on your pack."

"He really has no clue."

"But you fed him the news, right?"

 _Ugh. How persistent._

"I'm impressed, though," the grey wolf clapped, "Normally, hired thugs would've already turned on their boss when they're already in this situation, but you still insist on watching over him even after he's no longer in position to solve this savage mammals case. I... really would've loved to see your kind in ZPD."

 _What a strangely warm invitation_ , Larry thought.

"He really has no clue about those auxiliary cops. I mean, you know, he's not the one hiring them," Larry inhaled deeply before cutting off the grey wolf, "Are there criminals among them? Or, perhaps... they've been arresting innocents left and right that you took notice?"

"Not bad that you guessed that."

"If you're ok with those auxiliary cops, you wouldn't have asked me about them, no?"

"Looks like I'm being too obvious," the grey wolf snickered, "But really, Lionheart has no clue?"

"No."

Larry would like to believe the grey wolf groaned in exasperation. Such minor gesture would've sufficed as a payback from all this stalking. However, he was alarmed when the grey wolf slowly approached. His packmates were probably going to strike as well. Maybe by dropping from the roof. Maybe by blocking the alley exits.

At least these wolves wouldn't find anything of importance on him. He wasn't keeping any records.

The grey wolf halted. As Larry tried guessing what he would do, the wolf lunged. A quick brawl later, Larry broke off the fight and ran, dodging another wolf whom he had expected to be dropping from the roof while he was trying to regain his footing from the brief scuffle. He immediately jumped towards a wall and sprang off that, having expected that another wolf was preparing to ambush him from the corner. He then grabbed just any one thing to throw backwards to hamper any pursuer, hoping that he could lose the wolfpack as he ran full speed.

Once the brown wolf was out of sight, Wolford sighed.

"You all ok?" he asked as his three wolf companions congregated. The last one to try stopping the brown wolf was bruised; Even Wolford expected that the brown wolf would have focused on running away instead of slowing them down, but that trash can threw them off.

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't catch him."

It seemed that Rhinowitz's praise was well-deserved. Wolford could tell that the brown wolf was injured, but even then, he was more than a handful. Wolford thought that he probably shouldn't have held back, but he wasn't sure at the moment how hard would be too much for the brown wolf.

"Never mind. I wanted to capture him alive for interrogation, but I guess I'm too soft," Wolford concluded, "Anyway, if my assumption is correct, he'll show up around Lionheart again, but likely at lesser frequency. We can minimize surveillance in that situation, which is good because I also want to spend more time dealing with those auxiliary Bismarcks."

The wolves then left the scene after a few more orders from Wolford.

Larry, meanwhile, felt like he had spent hours panting and clutching his body. He was aghast that such a brief scuffle was too much for his recovering body to handle. That grey wolf was holding back, now that Larry thought about it. Was he too worked up that he strained his body?

Larry was glad that he could lose the grey wolf at all, and that he still had enough strength to seek a lofty nook before his body just felt like it broke into pieces. He couldn't even summon up any strength to contact Lionheart to warn about the ex-cops. Hopefully another few hours wasn't too long a wait.

* * *

Thomas slowly grew restless as he continually checked him phone. He was hoping McHorn would give him some briefing on what the former cops were on to, but he had not gotten an update. He didn't count how many times he had picked up a call very enthusiastically, only to find it wasn't McHorn.

Another ring which he swiftly answered.

"Go back."

Thomas let out a very elated sigh. Finally that rhino called.

"Krumpanski, help me take care of the office for the night."

Based on what McHorn said, the rhino had wanted to talk at Thomas's home.

"Turn left. Now."

But McHorn's sudden call alarmed Thomas. He surmised that the rhino actually kept an eye on his trip home, and that sudden request was because McHorn wanted Thomas to go to another place. And that other place was a secluded, abandoned garage.

"No one on your trail?" the rhino immediately asked once the garage was shut.

"I believe not," Thomas replied.

"Good. Seems like either Harold and Swenson had shared that they saw me at ZPD, and I think a few Bismarck goons are on the move. And based on their activity, Rainforest District is basically theirs now."

"Are they hunting you?"

"Maybe. Did anyone ask you about me today?"

"Harold, or as I know him, George, did. I only told him to shut it and focus on work," Thomas huffed, "I'm just worried they might get too nosy, so today I've briefed our own cops not to socialize with the auxiliary cops, and to watch out for them at all times."

"You had separate briefings?"

"Yes."

"I see. Thanks."

After that, McHorn shared what the former officers had relayed to him.

"Quite a few interesting news there," Thomas remarked.

"So, what are your plans?"

"I might send more of them to Tundratown starting tomorrow, and keep them out of Lionheart's general place," Thomas then scribbled some notes and shared it with McHorn, "These are what are think I will issue tomorrow. Oh and, just for tomorrow, be on the prowl, don't seek me out unless you must. I think it'll be better if we minimize contact."

McHorn nodded and left, with Thomas following shortly after. The hippo decided that he would not rest at home tonight; Things were looking busy tomorrow.


	29. Chapter 29: Restless

Judy took her seat inside a train. She was taking a trip back to Bunnyburrows, not sure for how long. As in, she didn't know if she would be back to Bunnyburrows just for the Carrot's Day Festival that her parents reminded her would happen soon, or if she would abandon her dream of becoming a police officer altogether.

The academy had called her not long ago saying that her application had been rejected yet again.

The train began to move, and Judy glued her sight to the outside.

Whereas before the towers standing at Downtown had looked wondrous, today they look like spikes that drove her away.

Whereas the artificial rain at Rainforest District had felt refreshing and inviting, today it brought nothing but gloom.

Whereas the snow at Tundratown was a temptation for her to frolick, now it was a blank white wall.

And whereas the sands of Sahara Square had been a beckoning challenge for her to thrive in Zootopia, now it served as an unwelcoming fence to keep her out of the city.

Judy slumped back. The trip had been quiet, far quieter than she remembered it had been the other way. Of course, she wasn't in the mood of listening to her favorite songs when she's feeling terrible like this.

* * *

Judy normally would literally held her breath in enthusiasm when the train doors were about to open. But considering she felt absolutely nothing positive throughout the journey, she couldn't even feign any manner of anticipation.

At least seeing only her parents at the station was soothing. She was in no mood of talking with her _noisy_ younger siblings.

"Welcome back, darling," Bonnie immediately wrapped herself over Judy, caressing her drooping ears in the meantime, "At least the trip wasn't so rough, was it?"

"Thankfully," Judy replied, then saw her dad about to pick up her luggage, "Oh, dad, you don't have to."

"Please, Judy, you look like that, I'm not going to let you carry these yourself," Stu insisted, and Judy silently agreed. Reminded her to that one time she nearly ran over a giraffe's foot with her luggage when she wasn't paying attention.

"Okay, let's go, then."

Throughout the trip home, the three spoke little. Stu was driving, so he didn't talk much. Bonnie merely patted Judy at intervals in hopes that could cheer up the young bunny. Eventually they arrived home, and a few of Judy's siblings were holding up banners and boards welcoming Judy back.

"Kids, I told you you don't have to do this," Stu spoke up.

"But Sis is back and we just wanna celebrate."

"It's ok, dad, let them have their fun," Judy reasoned, "They haven't seen me for a long time."

"Even so... Kids, let's wait until dinner before you start bugging Judy, ok? She's tired," Bonnie ordered the children, "Oh, and tell you what, you probably can hang those banners in the dining room. That works for you?"

After a big "Yay!", the little bunnies scrambled inside.

"That was easy," Judy snickered.

"Well, if you've been a mom for as long as I have, this sort of thing is trivial."

Yeah, that's hard to argue.

"We'll manage from here, dear, once you're tucked in," Bonnie said as she saw Stu hauling Judy's luggage in, "Once you're all refreshed from today, we can talk about everything tomorrow."

"Thanks, mom."

* * *

Judy didn't feel like resting that afternoon, especially when she counted that dinner was no more than two hours away. She looked outside the window, and decided that she might feel better taking a walk around the Burrows than sleeping. And she was glad her parents concurred, saying that Judy should check out the square where the Carrot's Day Festival would be held.

The Burrows had been as rustic as Judy remembered. Despite the advances in modern technology, some of which her parents had bought to help with their farming, the place still felt like an archaic farming town. Judy wasn't sure how to feel about it; The quaint atmosphere was soothing, but she had always felt she fit better as a city bunny, what's with her desire to become a police officer.

A dream she probably should just give up. No one was really supporting her, anyway.

 _But I think you have what it takes to be a cop._

Judy chuckled. _If only everyone else, especially those at the academy, felt the same way as you, Nick._

She might be a small bunny from a rural town, but she had had experiences in doing cop jobs, sort of. Or at least, helping cops dealing with criminals. And nobody believed her, or nobody cared.

Judy eventually reached the square. As she had expected, there had been a few booths set up even if obviously still unmanned, a few ornaments being plastered around the place, and several mammals busy setting up the place. Given that the Carrot's Day Festival was a big event at the Burrows, the preparations tended to start several weeks before the festival itself, which had been the case for as long as Judy could remember. She then offered her help to a few of the working mammals to flex her muscles: Sitting still in the train for long hours was tiring. And some of them were nice enough to note that Judy was still drained from her trip, offering drinks and massage to cheer up the bunny.

Just as Judy was about to go back, having thought she might be late for dinner otherwise, she spotted a brown van behind a shack. It wasn't interesting at first, but the name she saw on the van shocked her.

Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuffs.

 _Wait, what?_

"Eh? Judy?"

Judy was still reeling from the van that she thought she was having a heart attack when she saw Gideon.

"Uh, Judy, are ya, uh, ok?"

After a few seconds during which Gideon waved his hands in front of Judy, she snapped back and stared at Gideon, completely lost.

"Ay, uh, sorry if I surprised you or something, yah."

"Oh, you," Judy finally composed herself and began thumping her foot, "You damn _well_ surprised me."

"Ah, sorry about it," Gideon replied as Judy wiped her head.

"Don't 'sor'-"

Judy gasped and cut herself off.

"Ah, yeah, well, sorry- I mean, uh-"

"What are you doing here?" finally Judy could fire a coherent question.

"Huh? Oh, well, I always take time to visit the Festival, er, every year," Gideon chuckled sheepishly.

"Ah."

"Though, uh, actually for this time, I might be, ah, staying at the Burrows permanently."

Judy mulled over that statement. True, with the current anti-predator climate, Gideon likely wouldn't want to stay at Zootopia, or perhaps he was evicted altogether. But permanently?

Judy then heard a ring on her phone. At the same time, she realized that the sun had gotten low.

"Oh, mom? ... Ow! ... I'll be back real soon, don't you worry," Judy inhaled deeply, "A little lost at the square, haha, but don't worry, I'll be home in a flash! Ciao!"

Judy nearly zipped when she heard Gideon call her.

"What?!"

"Ah, er, um, I, uh, I just... is it ok if I drive you home?"

Judy felt like her brain just had a meltdown.

"You just came back today, right? I can drive you so, uh, you don't get too tired walking back."

Judy's head was flooded with 'No's, but for some reason she felt that wasn't a bad idea. She was indeed tired, not just from her journey back from Zootopia, but also from skipping to the square and even helping some mammals to pass the time. But she was apprehensive of being near Gideon. But...

"Do you even know where my house is?" for some reason that question was devoid of animosity.

"Oh, yes, I do. I- I baked pies for your, er, family sometimes."

And if Gideon's offer earlier caused a brain meltdown, Judy didn't know how to describe how she felt right now. Having said that, she wondered if she had excessively overreacted.

"Ah, sorry, if I, uh..."

"You know what," Judy decided, "Fine. Just this once."

The trip back to Hopps household was quiet. Of course, that was because Judy wasn't the least bit interested in starting a conversation. Regardless, she was pondering about Gideon.

"Thank you, Gideon boy," Stu thanked Gideon when they arrived.

"You're welcome, Mr. Hopps," Gideon replied with a pawshake before leaving.

"So nice to see you getting along with him now, Judy," Bonnie spoke up as they all went to the dinner.

"Well," Judy didn't feel like replying, but relented, "Yeah, well, at least there's no problem."

"Oh, come now, Judy," Bonnie's voice hinted disapproval, "You haven't seen him for a long while and you still think he's going to maul you?"

 _Maul. Killer instinct. DNA. Savage mammals._

Judy decided not to answer, not even with a gesture. She imagined anything she would say to answer her mom would just sour the mood further.

"Okay, tell you what, darling," Bonnie decided, "Let's just eat first for tonight. I'll tell your sisters to decorate your bed with bunnies. Stuffed bunnies. You liked them when you're teen."

A joyous smile came to Judy's face. _Well, talk about nostalgic._ Hopefully the food would be good enough to help her rest better.

* * *

Within seconds of waking up the morning after, Judy made a quick comparison between her own bedroom and the bed she slept in back at Grand Pangolin Arms. Those stuffed bunnies really helped; Judy couldn't remember the last time she slept so well like that. Of course, the lack of a pair of kudu and oryx on the other side of the wall was helpful too.

Judy was still in the mood of snoozing as she made her way to the dining room. Maybe her mom or sisters had prepared breakfast, or she might have to contend with leftovers given that she woke up rather late.

"Morning, dear," Bonnie entered the dining room with some warm soup, "I imagined you are enjoying your beauty sleep, so I've set this aside just for you."

The smell of her favorite Burrows broth made Judy felt like she's in heaven. And the taste was as divine as she had always remembered it.

Later, as Judy was putting on her shirt, she heard a honk. She thought little of it as she prepped up. Eventually she made her way outside after finding out her mother was busy with the laundry. She saw a white van outside, and her father was talking to a rather large ram.

"Oh, yes, of course," Stu then gestured to some of his children, "Boys, grab those flowers there for our guest here. Oh, and remember those grains in yellow bags in the shed? Get two of them."

The boys then did as they were ordered. Judy noticed the boys were harvesting purple flowers at the perimeter of the farm. Purple flowers she remembered as night howlers. Judy wondered just what the ram wanted the flowers for; The grains were probably food that the ram bought cheap straight from the source, but what of the flowers?

Judy's little brothers were loading the ordered produce into the van as Judy walked up to her father. The ram noticed her, but didn't seem interested to talk to her.

"Anyway, thank you for the business as always, Mr. Hopps," the ram shook hoofs with Stu.

"Yes, thank you for the business," Stu then accepted his payment.

"So he's the city sheep you've been working with, dad?" Judy asked as the ram headed to the van.

"Yep," Stu started walking back to the farm as the van left, "Good ol' Jesse's been a partner for a good while now."

 _Wait._

"Dad, did you just say Jesse?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

Judy whipped her head towards the direction of the van.

"Jude, the dude, what's the matter?"

"Ah? Well, it's, uh," Judy stammered, "just a name I've heard before back in the city."

"Oh, a friend of yours?"

"N-no, actually."

Judy considered the repercussions if she just told her dad what she heard from Duke the weasel. Was what she was thinking the case here?

"Ah, well, nothing, sorry, haha," Judy nervously chuckled, "I only heard that name in passing and somehow am reminded of... random stuffs, haha."

"If... you say so," Stu decided not to probe too much.

"But, dad," Judy then recalled what the sheep bought, "what do they buy usually?"

"Oh, random things. Carrots, grains, fruits... but one thing they consistently buy are the night howlers."

"Huh?" Judy scratched her chin, "What for?"

"Oh, they only said it makes real good repellent," Stu then shouted a few orders to a few bunnies, "You know we plant them round the farm to keep the bugs away, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Judy then chuckled, "Funny. I've never heard of commercial mosquito repellent made of that stuff."

"You never? Hah, probably you need to be more observant."

 _Observant._

Judy looked back at the direction of the van. True, she felt there's something wrong with that sheep, Jesse. Maybe she should observe him more.

Another honk. Judy remembered the sound and silently groaned.

"Oooh," Bonnie came out of the house, "Looks like my pie boy is here."

Judy whipped her head back and forth between her mom and an oncoming brown van, and she kept her frown as Gideon went down.

"Hello again, Gideon," greeted Stu.

"Ah, hello, Mr. Hopps," Gideon offered a pawshake first to Stu, then to Bonnie, "And hello, too, Mrs. Hopps."

"So sorry to call you so early in the morning earlier, Gideon," Bonnie continued, "It's just that when I woke up this morning, I suddenly just had an idea to celebrate Judy's homecoming, and I remembered you. Those pies that time were wonderful and I think she should give it a try."

"Thanks, Mrs. Hopps," Gideon replied as he went to the back of his van, "Anyway, it'll take, er, some time for the pies, um, to be ready. So maybe you can do your things first or something, haha."

"Sure, dear," Bonnie then noticed Judy's less-than-cordial expression, "Still tired, Judy darling?"

Judy perked up upon hearing that question, and she hastily shook her head as an answer. At the same time, she observed Gideon prepping his van, and she discovered that the van also served as a mobile kitchen, something she never paid attention to yesterday. _Talk about hi-tech_ , she chuckled.

"So, how was your morning?" Gideon decided to start a chat with the Hopps as he began working.

"Oh, our usual business partner came by today," Stu began.

"Well, I guess Hopps farm's, eh, famous 'round the Burrows, right?" Gideon continued mixing ingredients.

"You're flattering me, Gideon boy," Stu chuckled, although he also noticed Judy seemed to be gazing around aimlessly, "Actually our client today are some city sheep."

"Wow!" Gideon's amazement was apparent, "You know, ever since I, er, moved back here, none of my clients from the, uh, city have come to visit."

"Oh, maybe they haven't had time to come here," Bonnie tried to downplay Gideon's worry in response to the fox's low-spirited sigh, "City folks tend to be busy, you know. And besides, they probably think there's nothing interesting here."

"So very true," Judy then covered her mouth after that spontaneous reply, "I mean, yeah, I think those city folks think this place is boring."

"That's right. Which is why we're happy you tried to mingle in the city, Jude," Stu patted Judy, who became a little befuddled, "It's always interesting to hear how you fare there."

"Uh... yeah," Judy suddenly lost spirit.

"Oh, uh, back to the point," Bonnie realized the conversation was getting awkward, "To be frank, Gideon, those city sheep are the only city clients we have."

"I see. When did they start visiting?" Gideon continued his work, although he noticed Judy was looking a bit spacey.

"A month ago, I think," Bonnie tried to recall, and smiled triumphantly when Stu nodded, "They said they were surveying farms for some produce for their merchandise and they picked ours."

"Yeah, and they even bought a barn for factory there," Stu pointed at some direction.

"I see," Gideon was storing some dough for processing later, "What do they buy? Just, uh, curious."

"Anything and everything, basically," Bonnie answered.

"Yeah, you know we Hopps grow lots of stuffs," Stu chimed in, "But, yeah, they really bought anything and everything. Even ornamental vines, night howlers and Bonnie's occasional bonsai for their daughter."

Bonnie nearly chuckled at Stu's statement when she noticed Gideon's smile dropped all of a sudden.

"Why do they buy night howlers?"

That question got Judy's attention. Why was Gideon so alarmed?

"Well, you know, Gideon boy, those things are bug killers," Stu explained as he was also alerted to Gideon's abrupt unease, "They also said they're processing it into repellent. Bug spray, I guess."

"I... see," Gideon's smile slowly returned as a nervous grin, "Sorry if I, uh, I'm scaring you there or something."

"What's wrong with night howlers, Gideon?"

All eyes were on Judy after she fired that question. And somehow, the scrutiny didn't daunt her.

"It's toxic, you know," Gideon began explaining, "I can't, er, guess why those city sheep want those night howlers, but I hope they're careful when dealing with it."

"Oh, right," Stu recalled as he turned to Judy, "There was one time your uncle Terry took a bite of it, and it made him super nauseous."

"Not only that, he was thrashing about really bad during until his recovery. Like someone with really bad dream."

"What? And-," Judy felt she might have yelped too loudly, "Okay, so why do we use something that toxic in the farm? I mean, somebody might end up eating them again."

"Well, it's so good at keeping the bugs away that I figure, why not? Though yeah, I always keep an eye out of the kids when they're in the farm so that they don't eat it." Stu argued, to which Judy shrugged, seemingly willing to accept.

"Your sibling bit some? Oh goodness, at least no one was hurt," Gideon sighed contently.

"Sounds like you've heard a worse case," Judy became curious.

"Yes, actually," Gideon fidgeted, "Travis."

Travis, Gideon's ferret friend. Judy didn't have much fond memories about Gideon, so she didn't bother taking note of anyone else related to him.

"You mean that ferret whose family left the Burrows some time back?" Bonnie asked for confirmation.

"Yes, yes, him," Gideon huffed, and then did some kitchen work for awhile before getting back to the conversation, "There was, uh, this one time me, him and a few other pred friends made some bet over whatever it was I, uh, can't remember, and the loser had to eat raw plants for punishment."

"Must be one of those high school bets I've heard every now and then," Stu remarked, and Judy's nod hinted she knew what he meant.

"Oh, yeah, indeed, it was tradition for us, uh, teens to make bets over all manner of stupid things," Gideon concurred, "But anyway, so, uh..."

The bunnies became uneasy with the pause.

"Travis, uh, lost that bet, so he had to chomp some plants. He ended up eating quite a few shoots of night howlers... and, uh... yeah, he just fell, er, to the ground, writhing in pain. So we checked on him, and he just, I dunno, turn violent. Clawed me here that time."

Judy didn't know what to feel when Gideon pointed at his cheek exactly where he had clawed her long ago. Should she be happy that karma had done its job? _But wait..._

"We didn't know what to do. He just, er, went crazy and tried biting and clawing anyone in range, so we just pinned him down the entire night."

"He... went savage?"

Nobody seemed to expect that word from Judy.

"Savage?" Gideon fiddled with his paws, "Now that you mention it, well, Travis' behavior was somewhat similar to those savage predators, but, uh, I think they're different."

"You think so?" Judy just let her curiosity flow.

"I mean, er, it's not like Travis went crazy forever. Took him some rest, but the next time we saw him, he was sober," Gideon huffed, "Of course, not that it mattered when his parents decided to take him out of town so, um, he won't cause so much problem in case he went crazy again."

"So he went crazy for one night and his parents think he's inherently insane?" Stu sounded disapproving, "That's ridiculous. I mean, even when I ground my kids sometimes, I don't think they're forever naughty."

"I dunno, Mr. Hopps. I just, uh, never really found out why his family just left like that," Gideon shrugged wistfully, "Maybe after someone reported that incident, they thought Travis was inherently violent, and he and his family left so as to not get lynched or something."

The four went silent, though Judy suspected what she was contemplating was different from what the rest was thinking.

"Sorry," Judy had an idea, "This is a bit too much to stomach," and she inhaled deeply.

"Ah, sorry if I, uh, stress you out like t-that, Judy," Gideon frantically apologized.

"No, no problem, Gideon," Judy tried consoling the fox, "I guess, hah, my brain's still a bit messed up even after resting for the night, haha."

"But Judy, darling, you were fine at breakfast earlier," Bonnie argued.

"I don't know mom," Judy's gaze dart around, "Maybe I'm just used to morning jogging back in town and standing still like this just felt awkward, hahaha."

"Eh, okay," Stu conceded, "You know what, Jude, with the farm air being fresher that the city, maybe you can do your morning jog now?"

"Ah, yes!" Judy then glomped her dad, "I mean, sure. Maybe I just need to smell the flowers to relax."

"Well, if you say so, dear," Bonnie concurred as she looked at Gideon, "Pretty sure the pies won't be ready so soon. I mean, I ordered a ton for our family today."

"Ah, perfect timing," Gideon then pulled out one fresh batch of pies, "This one's just done. I'll have the next one baked."

"Good work, Gideon dear," Bonnie then took the pies inside.

"Okay, I'm off. Talk to you again later!" Judy then began skipping away.

"Okay, Judy, be careful!"

Once Judy thought she was out of everyone's sight, she glared at the direction where her dad pointed at. Direction of the barn factory.

Based on what Gideon said, ingestion of night howlers could drove mammals rabid. Even Uncle Terry became violent if temporarily, based on what little her mom said. And yet those city sheep had been buying lots of night howlers for a while.

Judy was hesitant as she made her way to the barn. Unlike the savage mammals in Zootopia, Uncle Terry and Travis eventually recovered, so for the savage mammals to have been driven crazy pretty much permanently via night howlers seemed implausible. Plus, the savages were all predators; What kind of predator ate so much plant, so much night howlers especially, until they became crazy like that? Or were those city sheep somehow force-fed specific victims until they went insane? What a scary thought.

No. There was one very important question: _Why did she care?_

Judy stopped and huffed. It should have fallen to the cops to investigate this kind of suspicious circumstances. But then again there was no cop in Bunnyburrows, at least, no ZPD cops.

Except _one_ mammal who should have been a cop.

Judy chuckled. She must have gone crazy for thinking that doing this kind of cop job would then net her a cop job. But given that she was already suspicious of this Jesse, it wouldn't hurt to check things out. And maybe finally, _finally_ prove to all those jerks at the academy that she was fit to become a cop.


	30. Chapter 30: Small Problems

Judy peeked from a grass field, believing that she had found her factory barn based on the white van nearby. Maybe next time she should be more observant and check the plate as well, but for now that didn't matter since the build was the same. She thought it suspicious that much of the field around the barn had been utterly cleared of vegetation; No one in the Burrows was this thorough in clearing the fields surrounding their buildings. Or maybe she was so suspicious of Jesse that anything looked suspicious to her.

After circling the barn for awhile to determine the safest path, she dashed towards the barn on the first opportunity. She noticed the barn felt new, apparently renovated. There was no window at ground level, only ventilation holes pretty high up. Judy thought maybe she's sneak in from up there, but before that she slowly creeped to the front entrance, and found it seemingly locked.

 _Best not to make noise by testing._

Judy then looked around to see if there's anything she could use to climb up to get in from the ventilation, and she eventually groaned in irritation after a fruitless search. Must she carry a ladder from somewhere? Maybe that was a good idea.

There was a sound of a door opening. Judy quietly made her way to the front and found Jesse, or the ram she saw earlier whom she believed to be Jesse, walked out of the barn onto the van. With the barn door ajar, Judy swiftly darted in before the ram realized she was there, and once inside she quickly hid under some furniture.

 _All right, Detective Hopps on the case._

* * *

Bonnie emerged from her house after carrying in another batch of pies. Gideon was still busy baking, and Stu had taken the family truck somewhere, probably to the farm. She thought about what to do; She didn't cook much for lunch and dinner today on account that she had ordered plenty enough food, and Stu probably wouldn't need her help in the farm at present. Thinking about Judy, she decided to chat a bit with Gideon to pass the time.

"Gideon dear, those pies are as good as always," Bonnie began, "My little kids wiped them out pretty quickly. At least now they're sound asleep with full stomach."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hopps, glad that they loved them pies," Gideon smiled.

A pause.

"So, Gideon dear, I'm sorry if my Judy is harsh to you."

"It's all right, Mrs. Hopps," Gideon remained surprisingly sprightly, "I did hurt her before. She's, uh, probably still angry about that."

"Yeah, I reckon so. But still, it's been years. I really think she just needs to spend more time to see that you're sorry and that you've changed," Bonnie sighed, "I wish I could teach her to bury the hatchet just like what we have done."

"You're so nice, Mrs. Hopps," then a sly snicker came upon Gideon, "Then again, maybe I'm still scared of you."

Bonnie bellowed a laughter.

"Ah, yeah. That day when I stomped over and told Mrs. Grey about what you did. Looks like I went overboard there."

"But you, uh, you're just doing what mothers do."

Bonnie tilted her head.

"My mom nearly stormed to Travis' house after she found, a, me bleeding from that incident. She, uh, probably would yell at Travis if she had gone there. At least," Gideon sighed, "It was only because she was more concerned about my injury that she decided to put that off. Though, uh, she ended up too late as Travis' family, um, left."

"I see."

"Moooom?"

"Oh, dear, looks like there's a problem."

Bonnie chuckled, though Gideon was slightly worried that whoever it was who called out to Bonnie might be in for trouble. Bonnie waved as she went in, and Gideon could hear some yelling from the inside. He smiled, but then harked back to what Bonnie said about Judy.

Indeed, Gideon did wish Judy would forgive him. But if she was unwilling before the savage mammal case broke out, it would be impossible for her to forgive someone who could go savage at any moment.

So what was he doing at the Burrows?

Gideon shook his head. He was baking, so he shouldn't lose focus while doing something with risks. He just hoped that after her stroll, Judy would be a bit more cooled down and maybe willing to talk to him about forgiving him.

 _Why am I daydreaming?_ Gideon giggled. _No time for daydreaming, I have a kitchen to attend to._

* * *

Judy was in awe of the interior of the barn. Her dad probably never knew how factory-like it was. Rows and rows of tables under some intense lamps, multitude of cables and pipes of varying sizes sprawling throughout the factory, an office cubicle complete with desk, a boiler situated at a corner, and some machine which she wasn't sure what for with a few gas tanks, fuel maybe, hooked onto it.

 _This really is a factory, all right._

Judy heard a slam, and she realized Jesse had come back in. The ram thankfully still hadn't realized she was inside as he made way to the tables. Judy weighed her options, and decided to check out the office cubicle first, if only because what she imagined might be where. However, Jesse's behavior of seemingly inspecting what was on top of the table piqued Judy's curiosity. What could be on those tables?

Judy eventually managed to find an elevated safe spot and carefully climbed. She gasped, and then covered her mouth and hid. She was glad that gasp hadn't given her away as she slowly peeked.

The tables were carpeted with night howlers.

Judy spent some time guessing what those night howlers were for. She considered her dad's words, that the night howlers were for bug spray. Maybe she was too suspicious.

"Jesse, check table 3. They should be ready for harvest."

 _That voice!_

"Okay, Dawn."

 _No more doubt._

Judy couldn't see the little sheep from where she was standing, but since the voice came from the office cubicle, she decided to slink there. At the same time, she saw Jesse working on what likely was the so-called table 3 before moving to that mysterious machine. There was a sound of metal hinge, and Judy arrived just in time to see Jesse dump some, no, a great number of night howlers into the machine and threw a switch. A few button presses and roaring sound later, the ram turned off the machine and collected a few vials from the other end of the machine.

"How many pellets do you need?"

Pellets?

"Make it three."

Judy scrutinized Jesse as he went to a different part of the machine and poured three vials, one after another. After a brief operation, he picked up a few purple balls produced by the machine, carefully stored them and the rest of the vials into a box, then carried it to the office desk. A small sheep came into view, and Judy kept watching from cover.

"Ok, great," Dawn then opened a briefcase and put some of the box's contents inside, "Let me check table 5. Pretty sure that one should be ready too."

Judy quickly sneaked around the interior to reach the office the other way when she saw Dawn and Jesse walk to some tables farther away from the office.

There was a ladder by the table. _Unsurprising_ , Judy thought, knowing Dawn's size. Once she could see the top, Judy immediately was drawn to the briefcase. She opened it to find a strange-looking gun, and when she checked its magazine, she found three purple balls.

The three pellets prompted Judy to question why they needed so much night howlers to make ammunition. Or perhaps night howlers had some property which made it useable as ammunition?

Judy gaped upon realizing the repercussion of the gun.

 _Dawn's a hitman?_

Judy glanced to the surrounding of the office, but the sight of Dawn and Jesse immediately made her duck. Under the cover of the desk, Judy looked around to see a notice board with some kind of handwritten manual on it. There was a crude picture of a machine on the manual, which looked similar to the strange pellet-making machine, so Judy surmised it's indeed the manual of the machine, and thus she began reading.

"... Use sixty Midnicampum holicithias flowers..."

 _Midnicam- Wait, wait a minute!_

Judy now was sure that this Jesse was indeed the same Jesse who employed Duke the weasel to steal the Midnicampum holicithias bulbs-

Night howlers. Midnicampum holicithias.

With a sense of trepidation, Judy read the rest of the manual, unaware of a sound of metal hinge.

"... Warning: M. holicithias extract can be absorbed by skin. Handle with care."

Judy pondered what that sentence meant. Ingestion of large quantity of night howlers, or the so-called Midnicampum holicithias, could make a mammal berserk. If that sentence meant what it said...

"Judy?!"

* * *

"No, she, er, hasn't come back, I think."

Bonnie and Stu shook their heads in tandem. Where had Judy gone? It had been midday already.

"I'm curious, Gideon dear. Have you ever seen her jog for so long in the morning back in the city?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hopps, I don't know. I didn't see her often back then, actually."

"Eh. Let's just wait for now, Bon," Stu conceded as he went down his truck, "If she thinks she's good for cop duty, I'm sure she can take care of herself in the Burrows."

"Well... I guess that's true," Bonnie reluctantly concurred, "But I am looking for her of she's not back in an hour."

"Deal, but I'll do it," Stu accepted.

The three of them then gazed for awhile at the direction of Judy's departure earlier. After a simultaneous sigh, they went to their respective businesses.

* * *

"Dawn?!"

Judy realized she had stood of from her cover while trying to read the notice board. _How careless._

"Uh, what are you doing here?" the sheep's question felt hostile.

"Oh, ah, just... worried about you actually," Judy replied while Jesse moved to flank her.

"Aw, Judy, you don't have to."

"No, really!" Judy frantically tried to find the right words to deal with the situation, "I'm just worried that, haha, you might get hurt when, uh, well, dealing with these night howlers."

"Aw, you're so sweet," Dawn coyly swayed left and right, "Don't worry. I know how to handle them."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure."

"All right, all right," Judy raised her paws, "I, uh, guess I was wrong in thinking you're growing them for food."

"Of course I know they're not for food, Judy," Dawn giggled, "They're not even supposed to be eaten."

"I know, right?" Judy fidgeted, "Reminds me, uh, to one time a friend of mine ate some and he couldn't sleep the entire night, screaming 'Mommy, mommy' over and over, haha."

"Oh, come on, he shouldn't have been able to even talk."

"Exactly, right?"

"Huh?"

Dawn realized Judy was glaring at her.

"So, let me ask you something, Dawn," Judy's speech became harsh as she tapped the briefcase, "Night howlers make mammals go savage, right? So you've been... what, shooting those preds to make them go savage? Why?"

"Oh, stop accusing, Judy. We know it's inherent in chompers' DNA that they're predisposed to going savage, right?"

"Cut the crap," Judy thumped her foot, "That doctor wasn't sure if that really is the case. And I only heard that from a kid who definitely wouldn't have a clue how right that was."

Judy and Dawn started staring at each other antagonistically.

"Back then at West Harbor, you were actually targeting the bear with night howlers, right?"

"And what's your proof?"

"You wouldn't have asked that question if you didn't do it."

Judy then reached for the briefcase, and Jesse lunged at her in response. Judy dodged his grab, made a quick climb up his neck and gave him a hard chop. Staggering as the ram was, he was still conscious enough to make a counterattack, forcing Judy to leap away.

As Judy was readying herself to brawl, she noticed Dawn climbing up the desk. With Jesse blocking the way, Judy decided to take him down quickly. Judy feigned a forward step, which Jesse replied with a grab attempt that missed. As the ram tried to straighten up, Judy dove between his legs, climbed on his back and dropkicked him on the head. The ram only twitched on the ground when Judy decided to smack him one last time, just in time to turn around and see Dawn aiming at her from the top of the desk. Judy quickly dashed to under the table and managed to escape with just a graze to her leg.

"Why don't you just keel over already, you dumb bunny?"

Judy imagined Dawn was still pointing her gun at her direction, so she waited and scrutinized the desk Dawn was on. A creaking sound alarmed her that Dawn was hopping onto the table she was under.

"Come out now, Judy."

Judy quietly sneaked to behind the desk and climbed the ladder. She saw Dawn aiming her gun downwards from the top of the table.

"Pretty quick at running away, are you?"

Seeing the briefcase still on the table, Judy decided to snatch it, but she alarmed Dawn.

"Hey, stop that!"

Judy hoped that Dawn was hopping back to the desk via the table. She then followed up by running right at one of the table's legs and slammed it as hard as she could with the briefcase.

That Dawn managed to land on the ground flawlessly despite the shock was of little matter to Judy, who swiftly dropped the briefcase and lunged towards the sheep, hoping to wrestle the gun away. The two alternatingly slammed each other to the wall, or whatever solid surface available, and Dawn futilely fired her gun a few times as Judy tried to knock it off.

"Let... go!"

"Never!"

Judy tried whatever maneuver she could think of. Headbutts. Pushes. Foot-stomping. At one point, Dawn paused as she seemed to realize something, and Judy used the opportunity to give Dawn a solid wallop that left her dizzied, and one roundhouse that knocked the gun clear off Dawn's grip.

As Judy readied herself, she realized there was a hissing sound that hadn't been there earlier, along with what appeared to some strange smell. Looking around, Judy realized the night howler machine was still operating, and perhaps at one point of their scuffle the two knocked a gas tank off the machine or damaged some other electrical objects.

"Oh, cheese crackers."

Judy frantically whipped her head around and recalled the briefcase after a quick glimpse.

 _Well, maybe there's still time to grab that before-_

* * *

Gideon pulled out the latest batch of his pies from the oven, but he saw nobody to take them.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Hopps, the next pies are ready."

Stu was the one who answered that instead.

"Thanks, Gideon boy," Stu then picked the pies and walked to the house, "Honey, more pies."

"Oh, yeah, just a minute," and then a few grumbles followed before Bonnie came out to bring in the pies, "Thanks, honey."

Stu then turned towards Gideon as the fox began preparing some dough for baking.

"You know, Gideon boy, I gotta say this mobile kitchen's really cool."

"I'm, uh, glad you think so, Mr. Hopps," Gideon giggled, "Sure worth the money. I remember, uh, mom yelling at me for buying something so expensive when I already have a bakery."

"So how often do you use it?"

"Only every now and then, actually, but really, it's just, well, worth it when I get to use it," Gideon then closed the oven door and began pressing buttons.

"Well, it may be I'm old bugger, but I'm just super amazed with the idea of a kitchen on wheels."

"Well, Mr. Hopps, it's good, but nothing beats actual kitchens when it comes to baking lots of stuffs," Gideon then turned on a switch.

 ** _BBBOOOOOMMMMM!_**

Stu and Gideon looked at the direction of the sound and saw a fireball in a distance.

"Sweet cheese and crackers!" Bonnie rushed out to spectate the explosion, "What was that?"

"Uh," Stu leered at Gideon, "Are you sure you flicked the right switch, Gideon boy?"

"I, uh, think so, Mr. Hopps?"

* * *

If there was one thing Judy was usually thankful for being a Hopps, it was because she was born with strong legs and really good hearing. Those were probably among the biggest reasons why she really wanted to become a police officer, at least until Gideon gave her an entirely different motivation.

But today, the ringing in her ears taught her that having a good hearing wasn't always a benefit.

Judy slowly got up, dusted herself off, and surveyed her surrounding.

The factory was about half-gone save for a few pieces of the tables and night howlers, a few surviving things from the office cubicle, burning wood boards and splinters that used to be walls and ceiling...

The briefcase. And a twitching Dawn.

The sheep was shaking her head and adjusting her glasses as she tried to get up. When she turned around, she saw a silhouette of a bunny with a raised fist.

"Don't die on me, Dawn."

* * *

Gideon noticed that Stu was walking towards his truck, ready to go somewhere. Of course, Gideon thought as he remembered what Bonnie said earlier, it's probably almost an hour already.

"So, Gideon boy, I think I'll go look for Judy now, " Stu confirmed Gideon's guess.

"Okay, take care, Mr.-"

Stu perked up upon seeing Gideon gazing intently to some direction, and Stu strained his ears to try catching any sound from that direction.

A figure of a bunny carrying a briefcase and dragging a probably unconscious small sheep eventually came into view.

"What the- Judy?"

Stu rushed towards a very messed up Judy, but she didn't greet him immediately.

"Dad, please, keys," Judy's heavy breathing was clear.

"Keys? For what?"

"Car keys! Truck, I mean, whatever, but please!"

"But, Judy," Stu protested, "Can you drive?"

"No time for that, dad! I have to go to ZPD now!"

"Oh, Judy, fina-," Bonnie emerged from the house, her smile failing instantly, "What happened, Judy? And... wait, isn't this the little daughter sheep?"

"She's no little daughter, mom," Judy remembered what her mom told her, "She a criminal! She's the one making mammals go savage!"

"What? Judy, what, what do you mean?" Gideon was more visibly shocked.

"No time to explain- Oh, and rope! Anything!"

"Rope? No," Gideon replied, "I only have duct tape."

"Gimme that."

The three watched in confusion as Judy wrapped up the little sheep to ensure she couldn't move. Judy then loaded the tied-up sheep onto the back of the truck, threw the briefcase onto the passenger seat and hopped onto the wheel.

"Dad, _please_. Keys!"

"Jude, you are not driving when you're all wrecked like this!" Stu indignantly refused.

"But, dad, please!" Judy furiously thumped her feet, "I have to tell the cops about this sheep's business! I have to!"

"Uh, Mr. Hopps, may I?"

Nobody expected that question from Gideon.

"I, uh, I mean, you said Judy shouldn't drive like this, so, uh, may I?"

"No!"

Judy then covered her mouth upon realizing she blurted that out.

"I mean, just... let me do this."

"I can drive for you, Judy," Stu offered, worried about the younger bunny's unsteady breathing.

"Sorry, Mr. Hopps, but if Judy needs to go to ZPD right away, I know the city better than you- and I'm sorry, uh, if I offend you-"

"You know what, guys, fine!"

Judy leapt to the passengers seat. Her grimace indicated that she conceded to the point that she shouldn't drive right now. Not that she was any good with vehicles to begin with, anyway.

"Um," Stu then reached for the keys in the pocket, "Ok, Gideon boy, help her."

"All right, Mr. Hopps."

Gideon then grabbed the keys after making sure his kitchen was no longer on.

"Oh, and... mom, dad," Judy gave her last order before leaving, "stay inside. Make sure everyone, absolutely everyone, stay inside until I call you again."

"But-"

" _Trust me_!"


	31. Chapter 31: Savior

The road to Zootopia was vacant on account that Bunnyburrows Express had given most mammals a faster means of travel between those two places, but Gideon remained focused on the road. Although he wondered if he was focused only because he was tense on account of what Judy might have done.

After a few times glancing at Judy in silence, he noticed that the bunny's breathing had become steady, although she still appeared badly exhausted after whatever it was that happened to her. He decided that anything he really wanted to ask would have to wait.

Especially _that_.

"Hey."

Without looking away from the road, Gideon threw a "Yes?"

"Funny, don't you think?"

"... What is?"

"I still remember that day."

Gideon decided not to respond to _that_ one.

"When you said that only preds got to be cops because of some killer instinct in their DNA."

Those words. Gideon was already shocked when he heard those exact words from the news, and hearing that from Judy made him jittery.

"I didn't want to believe that, you know," Judy heaved a long sigh, "I thought of myself a strong bunny, and I thought I could be a cop if I wanted to."

Gideon remained quiet.

"When you told me that, I became motivated... no, not motivated, incensed to prove you wrong. I don't know if I was ever angry with you about it. I mean, I guess I was, or should I say I am, haha."

That Judy hadn't accused him for ignoring her was something Gideon silently was thankful for. The truck's no sports car, but Gideon knew well he was cruising at a speed which would get him booked anywhere in Zootopia. So he would need to focus, at the same time listening to what she wanted to say.

"I guess I never really got to prove you wrong at that, huh?"

"... I'm sorry."

It came to Gideon's attention that Judy didn't give an immediate retort.

"And funnily, after failing to become a cop so many times, I ended up doing... cop jobs," Judy chuckled, "Heh, heh, cop jobs. Catching criminals, busting gangster hideout or something..."

"Did they," Gideon scrambled for words, "appreciate you for that?"

"Hah, no. One of them even tried to arrest me... though at least I did go overboard that one time."

"Yikes."

"But that just don't compare to this."

Gideon fell silent. He imagined Judy was now ready to explain her ordeal.

"I took your words to heart by the way."

Gideon found that sentence baffling.

"When the preds in town went savage, I thought back at your words."

Judy then shook her head, thinking that that perhaps wasn't the right thing to say.

"More like, I thought that was the answer, the root cause," Judy then tapped the briefcase she was carrying, "I was wrong."

Gideon merely gulped.

"Thanks."

It took some time before Gideon replied with a "What for?"

"The night howlers."

Gideon spared a glance at the briefcase which Judy opened, apparently to ascertain what was inside.

"Remember what you just said about night howlers making Travis go savage?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Those sheep have been buying night howlers from my family farm," Judy grimaced, as if something had just stung her, "and they... they've been growing night howlers. Night howler farm, if I may say."

"Night howler farm?"

"Yeah. Remember what my dad said about them buying a barn?"

Gideon nodded.

"I went there earlier. Or should I say... I felt uneasy about that sheep that I tailed him all the way to the barn. And... guess what?"

"That barn was a night howler farm?"

"Oh, right, I already said that," Judy chuckled.

"You mean, um, those sheep have been buying a barn and night howlers so, uh, they can make a night howler farm to make, uh, night howlers to make mammals go savage?"

Judy's laughter made Gideon wonder if he had said something wrong.

"Exactly," Judy then tapped the briefcase again, "They... weaponize the night howlers, basically."

Gideon gulped. At the same time he realized he was nearing Zootopia.

"Which is why I have to tell the cops about this."

"I see."

The two spoke nothing once they were in the city. Not long after their entry, Judy heard a police siren. It seemed there was a cop cruiser on their trail.

"There's a cop behind us," Judy informed Gideon.

"Oh? So, what do you wanna do?"

Judy suddenly was at a loss of thought. Well, she wanted to inform the cops. Should she gave report to this cop who's following them? The way the cop tailed them reminded her of a little tied-up sheep at the back of the truck.

"Let's pull over. I'll talk."

"Okay."

A pair of boar cops approached the truck from both sides. Gideon gulped, more so when Judy decided to alight to confront the one nearer to her with the briefcase in her paw.

"Excuse me, bunny, but I see you have a tied-up sheep on your truck," the boar began.

"I know," Judy nonchalantly replied. It then crossed her mind what Nick would have asked had he been the one accosting her.

"Whatever your reason is, bunny, release that sheep."

"Oh, well, I would love to, mister cop, if not for the fact that this sheep's a hitman."

"What makes you say that?"

"See this, mister cop?" Judy tapped the briefcase, "There's a gun in here. A gun she uses to dose predators with night howlers and make them go savage."

The boar paused, then radioed someone.

"Found them. The bunny's got it."

It took Judy a while to process what the boar had just said, and she came to a conclusion that the cops somehow had been hunting her. Which baffled her; There was no ZPD officers at the Burrows right up until her recent departure.

"Uh... not to be snide here, mister cop, but have you been looking for me?"

The boar walked up to Judy and yanked the briefcase away to her surprise. After the boar placed the briefcase by Dawn, he then grabbed Judy by her arms.

"Hey!" Judy reflexive swatted the boar's hoof, "Wait, please hear me out!"

The boar continued his walk towards Judy, at the same time signaling his partner.

"Wait, wait, wait, mister cop, I'm being honest here! This sheep had been shooting predators with night howlers and turn them savage! She's the criminal here, not me!"

After Judy dodged another grab attempt by the boar, he quickly pulled out a tranquilizer and shot Judy. She managed to dodge the first shot, but the next one hit her squarely on the chest.

"Judy!"

Gideon panicked upon seeing that, but he didn't get to do much as the other boar also tranquilized him, and Judy could only watch as the boar dragged Gideon out of the truck before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Judy's sight was a blur, and her ears weren't working right either. It took her some time before she remembered what had happened.

"Serves... you right, dumb bunny."

Judy leered to her left. Under normal circumstance, the sight of Dawn right beside her after what happened would have shocked her into action, but her body felt drained and numb, no doubt from the tranquilizer earlier.

"You ok?"

"... Not at my best."

That short exchange between the cop and Dawn prompted Judy to try gathering her thoughts to draw a conclusion on what happened.

The boar cops had arrested her because they saw a tied-up Dawn at the back of the truck. Despite her insistence that Dawn had been the criminal, the boar instead darted her and... freed Dawn?

 _What's going on here?_

"Sorry I didn't ask you earlier," the boar at the passenger seat, the one who arrested Judy, threw a question, but not for Judy, "What do we do with her?"

"Just... find some place... for her to lie down."

Judy wondered what that meant. Even her thought process was sluggish, almost as though she was altogether dead.

"How about... the gun?"

"Here."

 _Right_. Judy remembered the boar cop took the briefcase from her. So the boar not only thought she was the criminal who kidnapped a tiny innocent sheep, but also that she was the dangerous gunman.

 _Wait. What is wrong with these cops?_

"Wait... mister cop-"

That was all Judy could muster before she felt a wallop on her stomach. It wasn't a strong hit, coming from a beaten-up sheep, but in her current condition that hurt like hell.

"Just shut up... dumb bunny..."

 _What the hell is wrong with these cops?!_

The cruiser eventually stopped at a red light. Judy scarcely noticed that the road seemed vacant. And then something bumped the cruiser from behind.

"Ah, dammit," the driver boar exclaimed before realizing something, "Eh?"

His partner looked at the rearview mirror.

"Huh, I thought you took care of him?" the passenger boar questioned.

"That I did."

The boars decided not to do anything about it yet, but there was another bump.

"What the pork is wrong with that truck?!"

The passenger boar walked out after that cursing, no doubt to accost whoever was bumping the cruiser with the truck. Suddenly there was another bump, this time from the roof of the cruiser. Then someone dove in from the front passenger door and scuffled with the driver boar, and after that quick but rough altercation, the assailant flung open the driver door and tossed the boar out.

"C-chompers!?"

Judy didn't immediately realize what happened aside from Dawn's panicked yelp, but what she saw after her side of the door was swung open made her smile.

* * *

"Tell him I'll make it in five minutes."

Nick then drove the cruiser to the destination Grizzoli relayed to him from McHorn. At times he glanced around the inside of the cruiser. He had Judy tucked into the front passenger seat, and Grizzoli at the backseat kept watch of an unconscious Gideon and a whimpering little sheep whom he thought he might have seen before. And below Judy, there was a briefcase.

That Judy was likely ok, if still dazed from a tranquilizer, was something Nick was thankful for.

Nick was prowling as usual when he saw Gideon in a truck. He had found out a few days ago from Gideon's vandalized, shuttered bakery that the chubby fox had decided to leave Zootopia for an indeterminate period, thus Gideon's return to Zootopia so soon, especially driving something other than his usual bakery van, was suspicious. And then Nick came across the boar cops, the ones suspected to be Bismarcks, and was further perplexed to find that they were following the truck. And after the boars stopped Gideon, Nick was even more surprised to see Judy. His surprise soon turned into anger when the boars shot Judy and Gideon, threw the chubby fox into some dumpster and took Judy, a briefcase she was carrying before the encounter and a tied-up sheep on the truck into their cruiser.

After reporting the incident to Fangmeyer, whom Nick remembered should live close by, Nick swiftly picked Gideon out of the dumpster and seated the chubby fox in the truck as Nick trailed the cruiser. Grizzoli called him back, saying that after Fangmeyer relayed Nick's distress call to McHorn, the rhino gave permission to help Nick. After Grizzoli enlisted Howliwell's help to spot the cruiser, the two wolves hitched a ride on the truck as Nick brewed a plan.

First, Nick harassed the boars by bumping into their cruiser lightly while Grizzoli and Howliwell remained in cover. Once Nick successfully provoked one of the boars to go out to accost him, carelessly leaving the door unlocked, Grizzoli dashed straight into the cruiser to take down the other boar. As a senior, the white wolf knew better about close-quarter combat while Nick and Howliwell subdued the first boar in an open-air brawl before he could interfere.

After that, the three promptly surveyed the backseat to find a barely conscious Judy and the sheep now untied (and she's rude), used whatever they could find inside the cruiser to cuff the boars, disabled all devices in and on the cruiser that might give away their position, loaded the boars onto the truck as Howliwell drove them away to be taken care of by fellow predator ZPDs, and finally brought everyone else into the cruiser with Nick on the wheel so that Grizzoli could liaise with McHorn on what to do.

"I hope he's not gonna give you an earful."

Nick understood what Grizzoli meant with that. While it was indeed Higgins' order to probe the Bismarck cops, the way Nick seemed to force a sense of urgency might feel overly pushy, which probably neither McHorn nor Higgins would find amusing. Still, whatever it was Judy had done to attract the attention of those boars, they had done way too much. And the less he reminisced about their treatment to Gideon, the better.

"Maybe I've missed being reprimanded."

The white wolf devolved into laughter.

"I wonder if HQ has missed your humor too."

There was an understandable mix of ribbing and wistfulness in Grizzoli's remark.

The cruiser eventually reached the designated rendezvous building and Nick parked it inside. Nick and Grizzoli then hauled the other three mammals out, and McHorn made his entrance still talking with someone.

"Good. Let Andersen and his team take care of them for now until I get there. You can go back to your earlier works."

Nick assumed it was Howliwell whom McHorn spoke to. He also noticed that Judy was coming to, though Gideon hadn't woken up despite Grizzoli's finding that his vitals were fine.

"So what do we have... here?"

Nick and Grizzoli then realized the bunny was of some importance to McHorn.


	32. Chapter 32: Questions And Answers

Compared to the bright sunlight that burned her eyes earlier, the current dim lighting felt very welcoming. _A strange irony_ , Judy thought, given her relative dislike to darkness. Maybe it was because of the tranquilizer that her mental state was all wrecked like this.

But at least Judy didn't feel as numb as before. After some stretching, Judy felt like how she usually felt after waking up from a long sleep. And beside her stood Nick.

 _Right._

He was the one she saw after that ruckus in the cruiser.

"So what do we have... here?"

For some reason that voice sounded familiar. Judy took a deep breath now that her sight was clear, though she still felt drained that she hoped she didn't have to brawl or something.

"You know her too, McHorn?"

Judy threw her gaze to Nick, aware of his puzzlement. She then turned her sight the other way, and silently gasped upon seeing Dawn nearby, and an unconscious Gideon being rested a bit further away with a white wolf watching the two.

"An acquaintance of yours, huh, Wilde?"

Judy then recalled Nick calling the name McHorn. Must be the rhino she was looking at right now. And not just some rhino.

"Yeah," Nick chuckled, "I, uh, guess I can be excused for my, er, rushed request?"

"Not until I can confirm saving this bunny was worth it."

Nick and the white wolf traded gazes and snickers.

"Uh, I, uh, think we've met before, mister rhino cop?" Judy then decided to fire her first question.

"Oh, yes, certainly," the rhino then saluted, "As you've heard from Wilde here, you can call me McHorn."

"Sure you're already ok, Judy?" Nick asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I think I'm feeling a bit better already- ugh," Judy then rolled her head.

"Ok. Sorry if I'm rushing you here, but, um, mind if I ask why those boars just roughed you up like that?"

"Uh, Wilde, I think you're going too fast here," the white wolf interjected.

"Ah, well," Nick clasped his paws, "Sorry if that's the case. I just, uh, don't think she has done something that would have warranted her getting shot without warning like that. At least, not by normal cops."

 _Normal cops?_

"If I didn't know better, Wilde, I'd say she's your girlfriend," the wolf jabbed.

" _Really_ , Grizzoli?" Nick smirked at that.

"Enough jokes, guys," McHorn interjected, then turned to Judy, "So, Ms. Judy, are you good to explain your situation?"

"Uh, yeah-" Judy then perked up suddenly, "Yeah!"

Judy silently snickered upon realizing that her sudden yell might confuse the three... cops?

"Oh, yeah, you're all cops, right?"

Nick, McHorn and Grizzoli all nodded.

"Perfect!" Judy then excitedly began patting around her surrounding, "Oh, oh no, the briefcase!"

"That?" Nick seemed to know what she meant as he fetched the briefcase from the cruiser, "You mean this thing?"

"Oooooh, yes, yes, thank- Oh, I'm sorry."

The three cops giggled upon seeing Judy hug Nick spontaneously before breaking off sheepishly. Judy then turned her attention to the briefcase, opened it and sighed in relief before showing the content to McHorn.

"What's that? Pamphlets?" McHorn asked.

"Oh, and something else."

Judy set aside the crumpled and partially-burnt papers, which Nick then held, revealing a gun underneath.

"Don't trust her, cops! She's a dangerous mammal!"

"Shut the hell up, Dawn."

Judy irately rebuked Dawn, but when she turned back to McHorn, his expression seemed to indicate suspicion. She grew nervous until Nick hold her hand.

"McHorn, I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of line here, but could you hear Judy out?"

McHorn scratched his chin.

"You seem to trust her much, Wilde. Are you sure she can be trusted?"

"Yes."

There was silence after that quick, but firm reply.

"I don't know what she might have done that made those boars manhandle her like that, but I've seen her a few times, and I can assure you that she's a responsible citizen and she couldn't have done something so bad as to deserve getting shot with extreme prejudice at will."

"Nick..."

"She blew up a building!" Dawn yelped again.

"For the _last_ time, Dawn-"

Judy felt Nick grasping her arm. She cowered upon realizing she nearly did something that could have undermined Nick's trust on her. But Nick only looked back at McHorn.

"Please, McHorn? Let's hear her out."

It didn't take long for McHorn to hold up a hoof.

"The sooner we hear her out, the better," McHorn then turned his agtention back to Judy, "Speak."

"Okay," Judy inhaled deeply, trying to ignore Dawn for the time being, "The sheep has been using this gun to make predators go savage."

The cops' disbelief was very apparent.

"Inside this gun," Judy then carefully opened the magazine, "are some toxic pellets made with concentrated night howler extracts."

"Night howlers?"

After the three repeated that phrase in puzzlement, Nick appeared he realized something as he read the papers he was holding.

"Night howlers, you say?"

"Yes- oh!" Judy recalled something, "You said about that Midni-something bulbs the last time, right?"

Nick nodded as he realized the words _Midnicampum holicithias_ were present on the paper.

"They're the same thing!"

"What?!"

Grizzoli and McHorn looked at Nick in curiosity, and the fox knew why they did so after his yelp.

"Oh, right, McHorn, for you," Nick then handed over the papers to McHorn, "I've heard that phrase, night howlers, only once, but if what she said is true, that explains Emmitt Otterton."

Judy raised an eyebrow. She tried to recall if she had heard that name before.

"You mean, that otter whose whereabouts you learned after talking to that Koslov jaguar?"

Judy thought she saw Dawn flinch.

"Yes. The jaguar said that when Emmitt Otterton went savage, he was yelling 'night howlers' over and over," Nick then turned towards Judy, "If that gun uses night howlers as ammunition, then- Oh, yes, the other paper."

McHorn looked at one of the paper.

"Something something holicithias extract can be absorbed by skin."

"Yes, though, uh, to be fair, I've never seen that happen myself," Judy remarked.

"Then why do you believe this?"

"Well... I've a friend-," Judy then remembered Gideon, and she found him still not awake, "Oh no! Is he- is he ok?"

"You mean that fox?" Grizzoli pointed at Gideon, "Don't worry, he's ok, maybe just need some time to wake up. Though it surprises me how you, a smaller mammal, can withstand tranquilizer better than him."

"Ah, aha, I see. Thanks," a chuckle of joy came to Judy before she realized she had gone off-track, "Oh, uh, so, anyway, his friend ate some night howlers once, and, well, he said that friend went crazy."

"What? You mean there was a case of a mammal going savage before the current ones?"

"Yes."

McHorn gave one more look at Judy with a stern face before turning to Dawn.

"So what's your deal?"

Judy feared what Dawn might say.

"She, ugh, she just showed up at, um..."

Everyone in the room looked at Dawn in anticipation.

"She, ah! She's a violent mammal, prone to beating up other mammals and tresspassing, uh..."

"So you said she blew up a building," McHorn cut off Dawn, "What building is it, exactly?"

"It's-"

Judy then heard Nick clearing his throat. Apparently he wanted to grab her attention to say that she should wait for her turn to speak, and she meekly nodded.

"It's, um, a factory, which, uh, I don't think I've seen it before, but this bunny just went in, something something happened and it blew up," Dawn adjusted her glasses nervously, "I mean, um, if that's not a sign that she dangerous, what is?"

Judy saw Nick smirk. It seemed that even he found that explanation somewhat laughable.

"Hey, are we being fair, here?" Dawn decided to change subject, "You're... you're probably all cops, or ex-cops, I don't know, but if you aren't cops, this is kidnapping!"

Dawn's expression fell sour the moment McHorn flashed his badge. Judy realized that despite having guessed that the rhino was a cop based on what she found in his car, she had never seen his badge.

"You probably have heard that all predator cops have been suspended due to this savage predators case," McHorn talked to Dawn, "which really bumps up my work as a prey cop. I'm just getting extra help, if you would think of it that way."

"But hasn't ZPD hired more cops?"

"Like those two rookies who beat up this bunny and that fox?" McHorn sighed, "Let's just say I disagree with the choice of auxiliary cops we currently have, and I'd rather work with familiar faces who know better than rough up mammals for flimsy reasons. Don't you think that's the same thing you'd do if you were in my position, Ms. Dawn?"

Judy was wondering why Nick looked a bit flabbergasted. He realized that and whispered, "Just didn't expect he'd say something like that."

"Anyway, Ms. Dawn, you also said that she's a violent mammal prone to beating up others. Like?"

"Oh, oh, um," Dawn fidgeted, "Well, she whacked me after I saw her blew up that factory. Witness removal, I think, haha."

"Where is this factory, anyway? There's never any news of a factory blowing up in town."

"It's, uh, it's, erm..."

McHorn huffed.

"Looks like I'll have to get you back first before I grill you more."

"What? Wait, no, you can't do that!"

Judy could feel everyone was glaring at her, but she was determined not to see Dawn being let off.

"I will tell you everything I know first, because I don't think this sheep should go out free, ever."

"Judy, what's gotten into you?" Nick became apprehensive.

"Nick," Judy inhaled deeply before continuing, "Thank you for trusting me, but I know what I have done, and I know there may be consequences for me after this. But!" Judy then turned towards McHorn, "I think I must first tell you absolutely everything I know about the night howlers, and seriously, this sheep should be locked up. And yes I know I sound ridiculous- ugh!"

"You ok?" Nick sounded concerned. Or maybe Judy thought he was.

"I guess I just got a bit worked up, heh," Judy huffed, "But really, Mr. McHorn-"

Judy then explained everything about what happened at the Burrows just earlier in the morning, about why she became suspicious of Jesse the sheep which led to her investigating the barn-factory, about her discovery of night howlers in there, about her brawl with Jesse and Dawn which ended with some accident that blew up the barn, and finally about her trek to Zootopia to find the cops. This time, Judy huffed in satisfaction that she had left absolutely nothing.

"So the one who paid Duke was the sheep who raised a night howler farm," Nick mumbled his conclusion.

"So they have been gathering night howlers from multiple sources and process them at the Burrows," Grizzoli summarized another point.

"If I may ask for help, Mr. McHorn," Judy pleaded, "Could, um, could I ask for somebody to help keep watch over my family? I- like I said, I didn't check on Jesse further after the barn explosion, so I don't know if he might have called for backup, and I only have asked my family to stay inside, don't know how much that will help, so... please?"

McHorn spared a glance to Nick.

"I can go, I don't mind," Nick answered firmly.

"No, not now," McHorn then made a call, "Snarlov, get some squad, with or without you, to Bunnyburrows, to," McHorn then asked Judy, "How do I address you family, Ms. Judy?"

"Hopps. Hopps family."

"Ok," McHorn returned to his call, "Find Hopps household in the burrows. Tell them Judy Hopps asked for someone to watch over them. Also investigate any case of fire or explosion at the Burrows, then report back to me. Go _now_."

"Thank you so much, Mr. McHorn," Judy thanked the rhino.

McHorn deliberated on something after looking at the time, at the same time scanning everyone in the room, about in time for Gideon to regain consciousness.

"Good... ness, what... happened?"

"Oh, Gideon," Judy got up and ran up to Gideon.

"Ju- Judy?" Gideon then remembered, "Oh, no! A- are you ok?"

"Better than you for sure," Judy giggled, at the same time noticing the three cops were discussing.

"Ms. Hopps?"

"Oh, uh, yes, Mr. McHorn?"

"I may need to have the three of you, by whom I mean you, Ms. Dawn and Mr. Gideon here, questioned again for this night howlers case. I'll have my personnel Wilde and Grizzoli here take you home."

"I'm very sorry for interrupting, Mr. McHorn, but again, I don't think Dawn here can be left free," Judy interjected.

"If we find solid evidences of her involvement, she'll be arrested accordingly-"

"If I may suggest, Mr. McHorn, I used to live in the city, at Grand Pangolin Arms, and I can take Dawn with me so that I can keep watch over her at least. Please?"

"And what makes you think I won't suspect that you'll rough her up given your previous altercation, based on your own account?"

"But- uh, but-"

"Permission to speak, McHorn?"

"Yes, Wilde?"

Judy gawked, slightly worried of what Nick might say.

"Since these two have bad blood, and Judy insists that Dawn be put under watch for being a gunman, what do you say if we put both, or maybe all of them, under _our_ watch?"

Silence.

"I mean, knowing Judy, or should I say, based on what we've heard, Judy won't let up on Dawn after what has happened, and both have accused each other of being dangerous. So I feel that if we keep watch on them until we're ready to question them further, at the very least we're keeping the two of them safe from each other," Nick concluded, "What do you think?"

"I don't think we can spare anyone just for that, Wilde," McHorn weighed his options, "although I admit you have a point on their bad blood and the ramification of it."

"Permission to speak, McHorn?" Grizzoli now asked.

"What is it, Grizzoli?"

"I personally agree with Wilde here. Someone needed to keep watch over these three, at least if because they were witnesses of some major crime. I mean, at least Ms. Judy and Mr. Gideon here were assaulted by the auxiliary cops. Whatever it was that caused the assault, it's probably better to have them under surveillance to minimize chance of further attacks on them. Those of us currently not in the force can do that. Does that work with you?"

McHorn paused, and after checking the time again he nodded.

"Okay. Whatever it is you're planning to keep them under watch, let me know later. I'll propose a different idea if I don't agree with it."

"Thank you, McHorn," Nick beamed.

McHorn then left with the briefcase, apparently calling someone. Judy glared at Dawn as Nick and Grizzoli were discussing something.

"Okay, here's the plan."


	33. Chapter 33: Hope

"Coming."

A female hippo walked towards the front door of her apartment to find a male hippo in black jacket and cap.

"Dr. Creekmare, yes?" The male hippo seemed hurried.

"Um, yes," Dr. Creekmare confirmed, "Excuse me, but who- oh, wait."

"Deputy chief Thomas Higgins from ZPD," the male hippo confirmed Dr. Creekmare's guess, "I'm sorry if I barge in during your off time, but I want to discuss about the savage mammals."

Dr. Creekmare froze. The way deputy chief Higgins spoke of his intention hinted a major situation, not helped by the fact that it was quite late at night.

"Come in."

Once the two hippos were seated in Dr. Creekmare's study, Higgins spoke up.

"ZPD has got a source who claims that the predators went savage because of night howlers, or I think I should mention its scientific name, Midnicampum holicithias."

"What- Midnicampum holicithias? Night howlers? What is that?"

"Some plants which supposedly can induce aggression on any mammal exposed to it. Thus I'd like to ask for your help if you can confirm that the predators went savage because of this Midnicampum holicithias, and if so, find the cure."

A telephone ring interrupted their talk. Dr. Creekmare looked at the number and answered it.

"Yes? ... I'm busy now, could you make it quick? ... No, warden rotation should be in two days ... They insisted it be done today? ... Okay, I'll check that out tomorrow when I'm back at the hospital ... Thanks, bye."

Dr. Creekmare then turned back towards Higgins.

"Security staff at the hospital."

Higgins only nodded.

"So, Mr. Higgins, basically you want me to analyze Midnicampum holicithias to confirm if it really made the predators go savage, and at the same time find its antidote?"

"Exactly."

"I see," Dr. Creekmare nodded, "I'll help, though I probably won't be able to get a result so soon."

"Thank you, doctor," Higgins then stood up.

"Oh, Mr. Higgins."

Higgins turned around just as he was about to leave.

"I think it's best that you share this with Dr. Estebofan and Dr. Buckton as well."

"Dr. Estebofan, I can understand. But Dr. Buckton? He has resigned, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has. And the reason he resigned was that he was ashamed that despite his experience, he failed to determine the root cause of the savagery. Or... so he said."

"You mean there might be more to his resignation?"

Dr. Creekmare silently praised Higgins for catching on to her hints quickly and nodded.

"Anyway, until his resignation, he has been working to analyze the symptoms and find the cure. In fact, there's this one day he went to the central prison to speak to Dr. Madge, but he only said it was... fruitless."

Higgins nodded.

"Thank you so much for your help, doctor."

* * *

Thomas felt like years had passed while he was waiting for Dr. Buckton to answer his knock. Granted, it was getting close to midnight, but Thomas had hoped he didn't need to wait this long. Eventually the caribou opened the door, looking understandably haggard.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Deputy chief Thomas Higgins from ZPD."

Dr. Buckton was clearly surprised at the unannounced visit, but he composed himself quickly.

"What is it, Mr. Higgins?"

"I want to discuss about the savage mammals," Thomas paused as the caribou gawked, "May I come in?"

"Oh, yes... of course."

Right after Thomas was seated, Dr. Buckton nearly went to the kitchen, but Thomas held out a hoof immediately, signalling that a drink was unnecessary.

"What is it about the savage mammals that you want to discuss, Mr. Higgins?"

"I was told by Dr. Creekmare to share with you that I've got a source saying that the predators went savage because of a plant called night howlers, or scientifically-speaking, Midnicampum holicithias."

Dr. Buckton appeared stumped.

"Wait, the cause of this... this sudden savage behavior is some plant?"

"I'm going to say that I'm not fully certain about this, but I'd like to share with you. Although," Thomas cleared his throat, "I don't know why Dr. Creekmare wants me to tell you this, seeing that you've resigned, but I think in your capacity as a physiologist, this information may come in handy."

"Plant? But... so it's not..."

"Dr. Buckton?"

Thomas was baffled when Dr. Buckton spent the next few seconds making a sound that was part-laughing, part-sobbing.

"I... I screwed over your predator cops, didn't I, Mr. Higgins?"

"What do you mean?"

"No... I think I screwed everyone over."

Thomas only watched as Dr. Buckton exhaled and reclined until his antlers hit the wall.

"Back then, the mayor grilled me about the savage mammals."

"Go on."

"I kept telling him I didn't know the cause, that I hadn't found out. He then kept asking me to probe if the cause was biological. I told him that was inconclusive. He then just... just asked me if the cause was in the DNA, if it was related to the predators' inherent killer instinct."

Thomas waited a bit for Dr. Buckton to compose himself.

"I first said that that needed more analysis, but Mayor kept asking me if there were any possible reason aside from the DNA, aside from inherent killer instincts. And I just said it was possible... as, I just thought Mayor wouldn't shut up unless I gave him a firm answer."

The caribou rubbed his face, hiding his eyes from Thomas for some time as though afraid.

"And... and then... right after Mayor left, the press came down on me asking me about why predators go savage. And... and I said that it was probably something in their DNA spurred the predators' killer instinct, turning them rabid."

Thomas wondered if he should interject now, but decided to stay his words.

"I shouldn't have said maybe- I shouldn't have put it that way, should I, Mr. Higgins?"

Thomas shook his head.

"What is done is done, Dr. Buckton. Now that I have a clue on what might have truly caused the predators to go savage, could you help me in any way to check on this, or better yet, solve this?"

Dr. Buckton inhaled deeply.

"I'm no longer working at the hospital, Mr. Higgins. But... yeah, perhaps I can still discuss this with Dr. Creekmare and Dr. Estebofan."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Although..."

Thomas wondered what it was that Dr. Buckton wanted to say.

"No, never mind. She won't be able to help anyway."

"She? Who?"

After fiddling his hoofs for a while, Dr. Buckton spouted "Dr. Madge".

"I," Thomas hesitated, having thought up an awkward guess, "heard that you... weren't able to discuss anything worthwhile with her?"

"Well... it's more like," Dr. Buckton stumbled for his words, "I wasn't able to see her at all."

"So that really was the case."

Dr. Buckton was puzzled by Thomas' reply.

"Dr. Creekmare shared with me that your effort to talk with Dr. Madge about this was fruitless," Thomas explained, "which made me suspect you weren't able to discuss anything at all."

Dr. Buckton was amazed, though he shook off that sentiment soon after.

"Yes, indeed," the caribou confirmed Thomas' guess, "I don't understand why I- no, nobody was allowed to see Dr. Madge at all. It's strange, isn't it, Mr. Higgins?"

Thomas scratched his chin. Sure, Dr. Madge's apparent crime might be sensational, but never in his career had he heard any criminal being so cut off from the outside world like that. And he also never heard anything about her, as well as the Cliffside wolves, being moved to another prison.

"Thank you for your time, doctor."

* * *

Thomas was sorting out whatever he would need to do tomorrow on account of the sheer amount of shocking things that had happened today.

First, a Bunnyburrow denizen discovered a major clue on the savage mammal case. The bunny was now under Fangmeyer and Grizzoli's care, who were also keeping watch on a sheep suspected to be a gunman who had been using night howlers to turn predators savage.

Thomas also recalled about two auxiliary cops who brutalized the bunny and her friend. Andersen reported that the two boars had been tight-lipped when questioned why they did that, not even offering a 'just following orders' excuse. Thus, they had been kept locked up until Thomas could point out to the mayor that the sheep's choice of auxiliary cops had been disappointing, but before he would lodge such a complaint, he would need to think up a good excuse to have his predator cops reinstated now that the cause of the mammals going savage might have been discovered.

Speaking of night howlers, a.k.a. Midnicampum holicithias, he had spoken to the doctors of Zootopia General Hospital, including Dr. Buckton who had resigned, so as to have the night howlers analyzed and the cure formulated. Which reminded Thomas that he unfortunately didn't know if the hospital had any sample of night howlers, but then again as long as some authoritative figure such as himself was involved, procuring them was not an issue. Besides, the forensics lab at ZPD had been given a sample of the night howler pellet, so asking for the hospital's help was mostly only to speed up the process.

But Thomas' conversation with Dr. Buckton earlier weighed heavy on him. Not only apparently the mayor fed the doctor the idea that predators' DNA might have played a role in whipping up their killer instinct and turning them savage, but also that Dr. Buckton's attempt to discuss this with Dr. Madge, who was handling the savage mammals before Zootopia General Hospital took over, was hindered by the prison. Thomas decided he needed to check on the prison to find out what's wrong with that treatment. Plus, this would be another thing he would discuss with the mayor.

 _Yeah, I think those are almost all._

Thomas smiled in satisfaction, nodding to himself as there was one more thing he wanted to do tonight, and he had just arrived at his destination.

"Ben?"

Thomas chuckled sheepishly upon recalling how many mammals he had disturbed this late at night.

"Higgins?" the buffalo somehow didn't appear tired, only melancholic.

"May I come in? Sorry if I'm waking you up so late."

"Oh, no, it's ok," the buffalo shook his head as he locked the door after Thomas walked in, "I just can't sleep."

How many nights had Ben been sleepless like this? Thomas knew he really had to tell Ben this now.

"It's about Frank."

As expected, Ben gawked upon hearing that.

"Chief?" Ben fiddled his hoofs, "Oh, oh no... what is it?"

"It's... actually not a confirmed situation, but," Thomas leaned forward, "we are probably one step closer to curing him."

After long seconds of staring in disbelief, Ben shook Thomas' hoof.

"Really? Oh, Higgins, really?"

Thomas watched in satisfied amusement when the buffalo started skipping in place beaming.

"So are we going to see Chief again?"

"If all goes well, of course."

Ben then hugged Thomas.

"Oh, thank you, Higgins!"

"Well, actually I'm not the one you should- Ah, screw that, sure."

"Ah, hahaha, is that so?"

Ben then spent the next few seconds skipping in place again, to which Thomas only smiled.

"So, uh, Ben, can I ask you to rest well tonight? I want you at dispatch tomorrow; it'll be busy."

"Hm, ok."

"Trunkaby has another thing I'll need her to do, that's why."

"No problem, Higgins."

Thomas then patted Ben on the shoulder.

"See you tomorrow."

And thus Thomas left, filled with satisfaction that Ben was slowly going back to his old, cheerful self.


	34. Chapter 34: Looking Up

"I see. Thank you, Ms. Daria."

Thomas hung up in exasperation. What a coincidence that Mayor Bellwether would not be available for the entire day just as he had a lot to discuss with the sheep.

At least seeing Ben again at the receptionist was uplifting.

"Morning, Higgins!" Ben then pointed towards the bullpen, "I don't know why, but we're a bit short on the auxiliary cops today."

"Oh, yeah, I know two of them will be absent for a foreseeable future."

 _Of course_ , Thomas giggled.

"Actually half of them seem to be absent."

Thomas grumbled. He could roughly guess the best course of action he should take today.

"No change on your patrol task from yesterday. Dismissed."

And thus ended the bullpen briefing with the auxiliary cops. Thomas then called Ben immediately.

"Tell our own to come in now."

Once the bullpen was filled with familiar faces again, Thomas began issuing orders. As before, the majority of the officers in this session would stay at HQ; Thomas had always preferred having old faces doing internal jobs. However, more than the usual personnel got deployed outside, not only because there were fewer auxiliary cops in the briefing today, but also because he wanted to have more eyes out in the streets to watch out for any problem.

* * *

With the mayor being unreachable, Thomas decided to haste to the central prison.

"Good... morning, deputy chief," the alpaca receptionist greeted Thomas.

"Good morning. I want to meet an inmate named Madge," and as soon as the alpaca showed a sign of hesitation, Thomas shot a "Please".

After some time, Thomas was guided by a warden into an interrogation room, and after waiting for long minutes, the diminutive badger came into view. Thomas gestured the warden to leave, shooting another "Please" when it appeared the warden was reluctant.

"I didn't expect to see you again, deputy chief," Dr. Madge greeted after the warden was out of view.

"I share your sentiment, doctor," Thomas replied as he placed a recorder on the table.

"Hah, doctor," it seemed Dr. Madge found that salutation ridiculous, although she didn't seem to care about the recording, "So, what do you want to talk about now?"

 _This wasn't her tone when we spoke the last time_ , Thomas mused.

"It's about the savage mammals."

Dr. Madge chortled in amusement.

"I'm sorry for being rude here, Mr. Deputy, but shouldn't you be talking to the doctors at the hospital about this?"

"I have," Thomas began to get annoyed at the badger's increasingly stinging words, "It's just that I feel that I should see you on the account of what Dr. Buckton told me."

"Which is?"

"That he wasn't allowed to see you."

Dr. Madge mild laughter disturbed Thomas.

"What's wrong, doctor?"

"Oh... you didn't tell him that you've ordered the prison wardens to lock us up in isolated cells and barred any outside party to talk to us?"

Thomas froze, and after some time he leaned forward.

"I never gave such a request to the prison."

Dr. Madge raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I thought the wardens got an order from the higher-ups to put us in isolated containment."

 _Higher-ups?_ Thomas could only think of a few mammals who might fit that description. No, maybe just _one_.

"I can assure you, doctor, that I'm not the one who gave the order to lock you up like that."

Dr. Madge appeared incredulous, but eventually gave in, and her voice began to lose her biting tone.

"Fine, so somehow somebody else issued such an order," she huffed, "Like it matters."

"Did something happen to your wolves, then?"

Dr. Madge wasn't expecting that concerned question.

"My...? Well... can't say I know. None of us had ever been let outside at all. I haven't even seen them myself for so many days."

Thomas groaned. That was such an excessive treatment, although at the same time he could guess that considering who they were, the prison, or this higher-up Dr. Madge mentioned, decided letting them mingle with the other inmates freely might have risky consequences. Still...

"I'm glad that I get to see you, doctor," Thomas concluded.

"For... this? I don't know what exactly you're thanking me for, but, yeah... whatever."

"Anyway, back to my previous point about the savage mammals," Thomas inhaled deeply, "Ever heard of night howlers? Or should I say, Midnicampum holicithias?"

"Night howlers?" Dr. Madge scratched her head, "Oh. But what does some pesticide have anything to do with our discussion?"

"Apparently that plant has the capacity of turning mammals rabid."

"... I'm... sorry. What?"

"Basically, doctor, we found evidence that someone was utilizing large quantities of night howlers to create toxin that can turn any mammal savage."

Dr. Madge then began tapping the table in what Thomas thought were specific patterns, as though writing formulas and hypotheses.

"The increase of that... if there was specific outside trigger... but..."

The badger's mumbling baffled Thomas, who decided to wait for a while before interrupting.

"Excuse me, doctor, is there a problem?"

"Ah," Dr. Madge snapped back, "Well, if only I knew of this earlier, hahaha."

"Perhaps there is something you recall that may relate to this?"

Dr. Madge went silent after that question, as if weighing some options. She eventually shook her head and exhaled rather apologetically.

"Mr. Deputy, how much progress do you think the hospital has achieved on the savage mammal research?"

"Won't be much, I reckon," Thomas then looked at his watch to find it wasn't midday yet, "I only told them about it last night. Same case with the forensics at ZPD."

"I see."

After a while, Dr. Madge decided.

"You know that I have been researching the savage mammals before the hospital took over, right?"

Thomas nodded.

"If... if you're willing to enlist my help..."

Something Dr. Madge wanted to say apparently felt heavy. Thomas only waited.

"If... maybe you want my research data to help those doctors and your lab staff... I, uh, can I?"

Thomas harked back to Rhinowitz's report on Cliffside raid. With the asylum being left with no data, Thomas wondered if the badger had meant that she kept a backup somewhere.

"Yes, of course."

"I see," Dr. Madge nodded, but then shook her head, "I know I'm not in position to make a deal here, but perhaps if you want that data, you may need to do something for him."

"Leodore Lionheart?"

"No."

Thomas furrowed.

"Larry. The last wolf from Cliffside."

The last wolf from Cliffside. Thomas remembered Rhinowitz's mention that at least one wolf eluded the raid, and also Wolford's report that he might have met that wolf, who was not the least bit interested in interacting with the cops, or anyone else for that matter.

"I entrusted to him the backup data regarding my research on the savage mammals."

"I see."

"If you find him, tell him to extract all the research data and share that to the doctors who are now dealing with this case," Dr. Madge huffed, "Of course, I don't think he'll be so quick to offer his assistance."

"Unless I... help him?"

"I think so," the badger fidgeted, "I mean, he's probably trying to keep his distance from you all, so even if you offer to help him on something, he probably won't bite it."

"And what do you think I should do to get him to work with us?"

"The other wolves."

Thomas took some time to digest that reply.

"So what do you want me to do here? Check on the wolves?"

"Yeah. Maybe just, you know, see if they're fine, or maybe some of them are goner by now."

"I see. I'll look into this," Thomas concluded, "The sooner I get the savage mammals cured and the entire case solved, the better."

"I see."

"Where do you think he may be, if I may ask?"

Dr. Madge only shrugged, saying, "I don't know. He could be anywhere, though loitering around prison grounds seems possible knowing how close he was to his packmates."

"I see. But anyway, why do you say all these?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Deputy?"

"Won't he hunt you down once he learns that you snitch on him?"

"Oh. Hah, well, maybe he will," the badger chortled, "Then again, it's not like I'm going out of this place anytime soon anyway."

Thomas wasn't sure how to react. He decided to truncate the discussion.

"Well, whatever the situation is, I will keep you, and by that I mean you and the wolves, under watch. Reasons vary, of course."

"Heh, didn't know you can joke, Mr. Deputy."

" _That_ got your attention?"

The two let loose a short, but concerted, guffaw.

"I'm leaving now," Thomas decided to end the talk.

"Yeah, sure."

Once Thomas reached the alpaca receptionist again, he promptly demanded that the alpaca receptionist allow him to see the wolves from Cliffside. As before, the alpaca seemed reluctant before eventually giving in; Thomas suspected that any regular officer would have been completely rebuffed altogether. After being satisfied to see that the wolves were still holding on, even if some might be worse off than others, Thomas left, unhappy that indeed the mayor had given the isolation order.

* * *

With what he got from Dr. Madge, Thomas quickly contacted Wolford on his way back to HQ.

"Yes, Higgins?"

"About that elusive wolf you met the last time, could you track him again? If you find him, report to me immediately; There's something I must talk about with him."

"Clear."

Thomas then considered what to do next. Maybe he should go check the hospital. After all, he had ordered the forensics lab at HQ to contact him once they got conclusive result, and they had yet to call him back.

"Dr. Creekmare? Mr. Thomas Higgins from ZPD would like to see you."

Thomas was glad he didn't have to wait long to see Dr. Creekmare. But as he had expected, Dr. Creekmare said that there wasn't much progress yet. With little else to discuss, Thomas decided to spend a little bit of time checking out on the savage mammals, if only for some reason he wanted to see Frank.

The alley flanked by the cells where the savage mammals were contained was as dim as Thomas remembered it the last time he came here. Except that there used to be only one warden on watch compared to today's four. Thomas wondered why they jacked up the security all of a sudden. Or maybe the other wardens just happened to be away when he last visited. Thomas decided to question that further later as he made his way to Frank's cell.

As before, Frank was tied up more securely than the other savage mammals. Thomas mournfully sighed; Nobody, from the Cliffside staff to the hospital, was willing to put him under any flimsier restraint. Thomas remembered the cheetah was the last to be taken out of Cliffside Asylum on account that Rhinowitz wanted to make damn sure Frank was properly contained before they moved him. The more experienced ZPD officers knew how strong Frank was, and they thus also didn't want to risk him loose while savage.

Thomas then recalled he had never asked Dr. Madge on her or her wolves' account on their capture of Frank. Then again, given Rhinowitz's account that a few of the wolves were still under medical care when he nabbed them, the capture would have been messy.

 _Hang in there, Frank. We'll save you._

As Thomas was about to leave, he glanced at the cells on the other side of the alley and found a few empty cells. Including some that he remembered should have had occupants. With the wardens talking among themselves, Thomas decided to inquire.

"Excuse me, all of you, but I notice there's a few savage mammals missing from here. What happened?"

"They, uh," the ram among the wardens then took out a notepad and began flipping pages, "Oh, right, they're scheduled for examination right now."

"I see," Thomas nodded, "Thank you."

Thomas then left the hospital, hoping that the cure for the savage mammals could be found soon. He imagined how happy Ben would be, no, not just Ben, but also all of ZPD would be once Frank returned to them. He then chided himself for daydreaming while driving, but a call interrupted him anyway. He wondered who it might be; Snarlov who was still investigating the night howler factory, or whatever was left of it, at Bunnyburrows?

"Something happened at Lionheart's."

Thomas wondered why Wolford called in that way, but he reckoned the wolf wouldn't have called if it wasn't important.

* * *

Thomas arrived at Lionheart's residence and found Wolford by the open front door, accompanied by another wolf with apparently no one else in sight.

"Lionheart got kidnapped."

Thomas went slack-jawed.

"Apparently he," Wolford pointed at his company, "saw someone, a bison if he got it right, paying a visit. Not sure what they talked about, but Lionheart was then forcefully taken."

 _Wow_ , Thomas thought.

"But, Wolford, couldn't you just mention this on the phone? Trunkaby probably can help you check where they are going."

"Because," Wolford then beckoned Thomas inside.

And inside the residence was a brown wolf clad in black jacket, watched over by another of Wolford's personnel.

"You wanna talk to me, I heard?" the brown wolf immediately shot a question at Thomas.

"You," Thomas paused upon trying to confirm who the wolf was, "you're Larry, I take it?"

"So Dr. Madge told you about me?"

"Yes."

Larry sighed.

"What is it about, then?"

Thomas went straight to telling Larry about the night howlers and Dr. Madge's request to have Larry share her research results. Larry didn't deliberate for long before he produced a data disk from his jacket and offered it it Thomas, and Wolford picked it up on his stead.

"I didn't expect you'd be so cooperative," Thomas remarked as he put the data disk into his pocket.

"Just wanna get this over with," Larry huffed, "How are they?"

"Your companions, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Still locked up," Thomas huffed, quickly mulling over if it was a good idea to explain the situation, "The mayor somehow had ordered them to be put in isolated containment."

"So that's why," came Larry's mumble.

"Why are you here?"

Larry took a deep breath.

"Just... checking out on Lionheart, though I suppose your wolf there had told you about it."

Thomas nodded. Indeed Wolford had been scrutinizing Lionheart and Larry, so further explanation as to why Larry was at Lionheart's residence was unnecessary.

"Basically we're currently trailing to see where Lionheart is being taken to," Wolford replied.

"Would've done it myself if you didn't interfere," Larry interjected, although his words were devoid of hostility.

Thomas was interrupted by a call.

"Higgins, Bogo here. Dr. Creekmare from the hospital is looking for you."

After an approval from Thomas, Ben then connected the doctor to Thomas.

"Uh, Mr. Higgins, I know it's sudden and probably not according to procedure, but please, I need to report a kidnapping case- no, a few kidnapping cases."

"A few?"

"Yes. So actually I got an order from Mayor Bellwether that with the sheer number of savage mammals, he wanted to have them contained in a separate place. Kind of like the Cliffside Asylum, except this time he said they had build a new asylum at western Zootopia just for this. I tried to argue that the hospital can handle them, but he's adamant about it."

 _Newly-built asylum at the west of city?_ So Mayor Bellwether was serious about building that predator ghetto.

"Go on."

"I... I still remember the case of that cougar, Mr. Higgins."

"Cougar? You mean the cougar that was moved out of the hospital?"

"Yes, that dying cougar. Back then when I was told that the City Hall knew what needed to be done about that savage cougar, I didn't expect that he'd take them so far away from the hospital. I mean, that was pretty much kidnapping, right? And now, with Mayor, or if really is him, ordering the same thing, I'm afraid it's going to be the same situation. Those savage mammals are being taken away from medical care!"

"I understand, doctor. So when did you realize it happened?"

"I'm not sure when it started. The last time I checked on the savage mammals was yesterday afternoon, and aside from bringing one out for diagnosis I only rely on the reports given by the wardens after that. Then just earlier I went and checked them again and counted some shortage, and the wardens told me the missing ones were taken out under Mayor's orders."

"Got it. Thank you for your report, doctor."

As soon as Thomas hung up, he ordered Wolford to follow him, while Wolford's other personnel were to keep watch of Larry.

* * *

Fresh from Lionheart's residence, Thomas called Krumpanski to meet him at the hospital after ordering Wolford to patrol its surrounding to find any clue. Thomas wanted to meet Dr. Creekmare immediately, but the receptionist mentioned that she was unavailable.

"But she just called me not long ago," Thomas protested.

"I don't know, Mr. Higgins. I was only told that she had to leave urgently."

"Where's Dr. Estebofan?" Thomas pressed.

"She's with Dr. Creekmare."

"Wait," Thomas realized he missed out something, "Who told you that?"

"One of the wardens, sir. A ram by the name Woolter."

Thomas began making his guesses as he investigated the hospital with Krumpanski. Eventually they ran into two of the wardens Thomas saw earlier, both deer, who were trying to move one savage mammal, a bear, out of the containment cell.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

The deer stopped and look at each other, and Thomas looked around to see most of the cells that were previously occupied were now vacant.

"We're... just moving him to the examination room for diagnosis."

"So many savage mammals scheduled for diagnosis at once?" Thomas irately gestured towards the empty cells, "Show me where this diagnosis is held because if you get this wrong, those savage mammals will be mauling one another thanks to your sheer recklessness of getting them out of safety."

"Please, officer, this is hospital business."

"I insist you show me," Thomas pressed, at the same time noticing that the bear had been fully sedated.

"No, sir, it's confidential."

"Who ordered you to move the savage mammals out?"

"We can't divulge matters pertaining to hospital decision, sir."

"Dr. Creekmare called me saying that she didn't give orders to have these savage mammals moved out of containment," Thomas countered, "So I doubt you are doing this within hospital regulation. Now speak, because what you are doing is essentially kidnapping and I'm placing you under arrest."

"You can't be serious, officer."

"Krumpanski."

The two cops immediately lunged towards the deer and cuffed them after a brief struggle. After patting down the deer, Thomas decided to lug the sedated bear back into his cell for now, and he told Krumpanski to haul the two deer out while he wanted to check about the examination room to ascertain if that many savage mammals were indeed there. On his way out, Thomas cringed upon seeing that _one_ cell being empty.

"This is the examination room, sir, where Dr. Creekmare or Dr. Estebofan performs diagnosis on the savage mammals."

The caribou nurse pointed out towards an empty room.

"Is there any other examination room here used to diagnose the savage mammals?"

"No, officer. Actually back then Dr. Buckton had specifically designated this room along with the entire south wing for any activity relating to the savage mammals, from containment to diagnosis. He and Dr. Creekmare basically wanted to minimize contact between the savage mammals and normal ones."

"And was there any diagnosis scheduled for today, the entire today?"

"Let's see," the caribou nurse began flipping notes, "There was only one, sir. Ms. Stalkinew at 9 in the morning."

 _So Dr. Creekmare was right._

"Thank you, nurse."

Thomas then made his way out and began issuing orders to the entire ZPD forces, active or not.

"Trunkaby, in addition to checking on Lionheart as I ordered you earlier, help me check the traffic at Zootopia General Hospital the entire day today. We have kidnapping on the savage mammals, might have happened since the morning."

"I'm on it, Higgins."

"Rhinowitz, liaise with Trunkaby and prepare to mobilize the troops. Ask McHorn for assistance in case you need more personnel."

"Ok."

"McHorn, contact all our predator officers. They'll be needed for tracking and potential combat duties."

"Will do."


	35. Chapter 35: Confrontation

"Good work on that second one, Delgato."

Thomas hung up. After his order of mobilizing all capable ZPD officers, active or otherwise, he had received reports that Andersen and Delgato managed to intercept a few vans who had been spotted leaving the hospital. Said vans were ferrying savage mammals to somewhere west, to an as-of-yet indeterminate destination, and he had ordered to have those savage mammals returned to the hospital for now. As for the arrested drivers, they were as tight-lipped as the two boars who were apprehended just yesterday.

But there had yet to be a ZPD officer among the rescued savage mammals.

For now, Thomas was waiting for any more news from Trunkaby. It was her report that the kidnapping vans prior to the ones just busted were leaving westward that allowed Andersen and Delgato to stop the later vans. But she had yet updated where exactly those vans had been going to.

"Higgins, this is Dispatch."

"Copy that, Bogo, what's the matter?"

"Mayor Bellwether's looking for you."

 _Why now_ , Thomas groaned before asking Ben to patch the mayor in.

"Mr. Higgins, I want an explanation about your actions," came Mayor's complaint.

"About what, Mayor?" Thomas tried to keep his cool.

"I got reports that you're still employing the predators who have been dismissed from ZPD."

"Go on."

"Haven't I provided those auxiliary cops to cover for them?"

"Oh, just perfect, Mayor," Thomas feigned gladness, "I had wanted to talk to you about them."

"Cease your orders on those predators. Having predators on the streets will bring unrest to the city."

"That does not justify your auxiliary cops arresting predator civilians left and right for no reason."

"They are just protecting the city."

"From what, exactly?" Thomas started raising his voice, "Mayor, I'm very sure you have absolutely no idea how many times I have to rescind unwarranted arrests from your auxiliary cops who apprehend predators just because. You know what, Mayor? Sooner or later your auxiliary cops will go around and arrest everyone who steps out of the house."

"Those cops will only arrest mammals who are dangerous, Higgins."

"Look, Mayor, bottomline is, your auxiliary cops have been more trouble than they are worth, and I'd rather have personnel shortage than put up with them. Or better yet, I want all my predator personnels reinstated to bring order to this city."

"I'm disappointed in you, Higgins. I was thinking of maybe offering additional personnel to help you, and perhaps one of them could take a co-leadership with you until a new chief is appointed. But here you are, preaching about how predators are not dangerous when so many of them, including your Clawhauser, have gone savage."

"Predators are not just some monster, Mayor," Thomas began boiling over, "and the less you berate predators who had been cops who serve the city, the better."

"Bah. If you don't stop your dangerous stunt with the chompers, I'll discuss with the city council to have you removed. Farewell."

Thomas grumbled. _Never one to take critique, are you, Mayor?_

Another call.

"This is Trunkaby to Higgins."

"10-4, Trunkaby, what's the matter?"

"I'm still checking the exact spot where those kidnappers might've gone to, including the one who departed from Lionheart's place, but one thing for sure, they're all going into Rainforest District."

Bismarck territory.

"Also, Higgins," Trunkaby accidentally cut off Thomas, "I spotted two more vans leaving the hospital during the time you accosted those sham wardens. Not sure who are in them, but anyway that should be the last convoy."

"Thanks for the info, Trunkaby, and update me again once you've discovered more."

"Roger."

After hanging up, Thomas deliberated on the situation. The kidnappers all went to Rainforest District, so he was quite sure they were affiliated with the Bismarcks. And he knew just who might have a clue what those Bismarcks possibly could be doing.

"McHorn, Higgins here. Inform all personnel you can reach that we're going to raid Rainforest District. I'll need your knowledge on the Bismarcks, so let our personnel know that they can refer to you for the mission. And I'll call Rhinowitz myself. You can begin your work."

"Roger," but before Thomas hung up, McHorn asked, "By the way, how's the situation at HQ? Especially about the auxiliary cops?"

"They've been officially dismissed for the day, and Trunkaby has made sure none of them was inside. Though with everyone out for the Bismarcks, only Bogo, Trunkaby and a few staff at the forensics and holding cells are left in the house."

"Great. Oh, and where are you right now?"

"Walnut."

"Which means you're heading straight to Vine," which made Thomas wonder if McHorn loved mumbling so loudly like that, "Ok, I'll head to Ivy in that case. But then that still leaves the inner areas, like Tujunga."

"Ok."

Thomas then called Rhinowitz and briefed him on the situation.

"Then I'll get all my troops to go there," Rhinowitz gave an affirmative.

"Ask McHorn about your predator troops in case he's got a task for them."

"Got it."

Thomas then saw Snarlov's number on the phone. He sighed upon recalling his very recent order for the polar bear to head back from Bunnyburrows.

"I've just reached Zootopia, Higgins. What's next?"

"Head to Rainforest District immediately. Be on standby around the perimeter."

"Ok."

Thomas wasn't sure if the lack of exhaustion in Snarlov's voice was a good thing or not. A tired officer was not necessarily an effective officer, which was why he didn't order the polar bear to dive in. And besides, Rainforest climate was often a nightmare for polar bears; With Snarlov's current situation, he might not function well.

 _Thomas, Thomas, we're on a big mission and you're being sentimental again?_

Thomas chuckled. He sometimes thought that Ben wasn't the only officer who started malfunctioning without Frank around. _No matter_ , he thought, _all this will end tonight._

* * *

Nick carefully made his way on the canopy of Rainforest. He chuckled when considering that for all his work so far at ZPD, he had never done something so gritty as prowling what practically counted as wilderness. At least finally those training at the academy didn't feel wasted.

No, the funnier thing was that during his time being an official cop, he never got to do this kind of big cop job, instead doing it after he was out of the force.

Nick glanced below. Johnson was prowling like him, just at the forest floor instead of the trees, as per McHorn's orders to have some on patrol from high vantage point and others from ground. The lion looked back and the two traded signals, neither having seen anything noteworthy.

Speaking of Johnson, Nick smiled again when remembering how happy Johnson was when he told the lion about the night howlers.

 _Wilde, you mean... we can save Edwin?_

That lion had been depressed for too long, so despite not fully understanding the situation about curing savage mammals who had been drugged with night howlers, Nick thought telling Johnson there might be a chance that the savage mammals, especially Jackson, could be cured was better than nothing.

That McHorn praised him for bringing additional manpower to the mission was a bonus.

Besides, if Ben's cheerfulness was any indication, it seemed someone, likely Higgins, had done the same with regards to Chief Clawhauser.

Eventually the foliage grew thin, and Nick saw buildings. He and Johnson began scrutinizing. No light was on in the nearest building, perhaps the same situation with the other buildings he could see from where he was. Unsure what they might be, Nick send a picture of the scenery to McHorn in case the rhino knew from experience.

"Wilde, Johnson, McHorn here."

"10-4, McHorn, what's the matter?"

"The building right behind the nearest you can see is their Ivy prison building. Then, about four to five hundred yards behind those buildings, towards the direction of Tujunga, is a meeting hall where Bismarck usually calls his lackeys for mission briefings. Do not approach until I give signal, and be careful when continuing your survey on the perimeter."

"Got it."

 _Wow_. The way McHorn put it seemed to indicate that they were quite near the heart of Bismarck territory. Nick send a danger signal to Johnson, and after weighing his options, Nick decided to stay and survey the current scenery, but eventually the lack of anything after a few minutes made Nick gesture to Johnson if they should move to another spot. The lion agreed, and they began to move.

Before they moved far, Nick saw a few vans that eventually parked by the so-called prison building. He realized that Johnson also noticed, so he threw his sight back to the vans. The drivers began pulling out something- no, someone from the vans. Whoever they were who got dragged into the prison building seemed to be thrashing violently. Savage mammals.

"McHorn, Wilde here. I saw... I think three savage mammals being thrown into the prison."

"Any idea who the savage mammals are?"

"No, sorry, too far for me to see."

"Good, thanks. Continue your patrol, and again, don't approach without order."

Nick gave an affirmative before continuing his watch.

* * *

Thomas was on standby at Vine with a few other officers, staying out of the open as best as he could while liaising with McHorn for directions. He understood that Rhinowitz was going to raid the Bismarcks starting from the north, and once the rhino started a ruckus, either Thomas' team or McHorn's will move into their respective areas, with the last joining in after that.

"Higgins, this is Dispatch."

Thomas raised an eyebrow as he asked Ben what it was about.

"Mayor Bellwether wanted to speak with you again."

 _What the hell?_

"Mr. Higgins," Mayor's voice was as acerbic as Thomas remembered it, "have you considered what I just said earlier?"

"Which one, exactly, Mayor?" Thomas replied as derisively.

"About not employing predators."

"Mr. Mayor," Thomas bellowed after a brief pause, "I understand that you just don't like predators, but these predators who have been with ZPD have been doing their job of protecting and serving the city for longer than you hold your office. Let me tell you that I find it disagreeable that I... had to dismiss them so brusquely like that, more so when your choice for their replacement is way below my standard."

"But- but you know predators can go savage anytime!"

"As it turns out, Mayor, we've discovered clues that the predators go savage not because of their DNA whatsoever, but because someone has been poisoning them with this so-called night howlers."

"What- No, that can't be true."

"What can't, Mayor?" Thomas began to feel there's something strange in Mayor's words.

"You can't say that predators just eat plants and go savage, Higgins, that doesn't make sense!"

Thomas froze. _What did he just say?_

"Mr. Higgins, cease this recklessness and get your chompers out of the streets before you cause panic!"

"Mayor... I never told you night howlers are plants. How did you know?"

"Of course I-" then a pause with frantic mumbling, "I just heard that- Well, I know of some mammals who work at florist and yeah, I just happened to hear that. What's wrong about it?"

"And why is that plant of any interest to you, Mayor? That thing is not decorative plant."

Thomas was interrupted by a beep.

"Higgins, this is Trumpet. Rhinowitz and I have secured Cloud Alley, we're moving further in."

"Good work. Oh, and did you find any savage mammals?"

"No savages, but there are doctors here, one hippo and one bovine."

"Ah, excellent," Thomas recalled about Dr. Creekmare's abrupt departure, "Clear and hold that base and keep the doctors safe inside. Once done, proceed."

Right after Trumpet hung up, Thomas promptly called McHorn to inform about Rhinowitz's strike. McHorn said he needed to wait, as his team was too close to the heart of the Bismarck territory to engage now, so Thomas then agreed to move. As Thomas returned to his call to Mayor, he realized the sheep might have heard about all that.

"Mayor, I'm currently busy here, but mark my words, I will look for you about the night howlers once I'm done with this, and you better not have excuses not to show up."

"You can't just threaten me like that! What do you think you are?"

And click. No time to entertain that sheep now. Still, Thomas lamented how Mayor was nowhere as cooperative as Lionheart. Not that the lion was helpful by withholding information, but whatever.

* * *

Nick grew bored as the night went on. He had heard that Rhinowitz had pushed into Bismarck territory, and that Higgins had followed suit from the south. And yet from where he saw, Ivy area, or specifically, the corners of Ivy area, was still devoid of meaningful events.

Regardless, Nick knew this is a big job. Monotony should not be an excuse to become lax.

Nick felt a beep in his pocket, and quickly shot a look downwards. Johnson gestured that he had found something, and Nick scanned the direction the lion pointed at.

A few more vans went to the prison building. Then some goons threw more savage mammals inside, including a few bears based on the size, then pulled out yet other savage mammals from the prison before they scooted off deeper into Bismarck territory.

"All right, thanks for the report, Wilde. Get back to the nearest road; Wolford and a few more officers will join you there."

Nick was a little amused when he saw Wolford looking a bit puzzled seeing Nick's cruiser emerge from behind the trees. Apparently the wolf found it cute that Nick had parked his cruiser, one he confiscated from those boar cops, away from the road.

"And there are better ways to camouflage, Wilde," Wolford concluded when he saw Nick remove some branches from the cruiser's roof.

"Just being discreet," the fox replied, and he understood everyone stifled their laughter on account of where they were now.

"All of you, wait for my signal, then go in and scour that prison building, then report back to me," was McHorn's order before they stood by, waiting for the signal.

Nick still wished he was up at the canopy; It felt great, looking over the world from above. But no matter, something was about to happen soon.

And then McHorn gave them a go. Higgins' team had managed to break through from Vine, and a few Bismarck goons were fleeing towards Ivy, and they needed to be intercepted. A few goons realized they were ambushed and fled westwards, deeper into their home territory, while the rest were subdued by Wolford and Johnson after Nick and Wolford's pack managed to block their escape. Wolford's report to McHorn on the situation was followed with Rhinowitz leading his team right to Tujunga while Nick, Johnson and Wolford scouted the prison building.

The trek inside the prison building was messy, with Wolford and Johnson downing a decent number of Bismarck goons with the help of Nick who created whatever distraction that his seniors could exploit. Eventually they cleared the prison of hostiles, located the savage mammals and relayed to McHorn whoever were in the building.

"Good work, guys," there was an unmistakable tone of pride in Mcahorn's feedback, "Get some personnel to watch over those savages. And I'll send you a list of the auxiliary cops. If you think you find any among the goons you took care of, I want them locked up separately from the rest. This will help Higgins argue with Mayor about them."

It wasn't long after they executed those orders when McHorn gave them another call.

"Guys, need your help to intercept a convoy heading your direction. Rhinowitz said some goons anticipated his assault from the north and now they're escaping him. Convoy size about eight to ten, so focus on rerouting them or slowing them down until Rhinowitz can catch up. Snarlov will help you at the perimeter."

And thus the officers who were not on watch of the savage mammals went on the hunt.

* * *

Thomas made a quick review of the raid until just seconds ago. Everything had been going smoothly up until McHorn's team's incursion. But then he received several reports of the Bismarck goons fleeing the scene. He wondered where he might have gotten careless about them.

That aside, Rhinowitz reported that he hadn't encountered any major issue except for the fleeing goons. And McHorn said he had sent some personnel to chase after them until Rhinowitz could join the pursuit. And Thomas himself still had enough manpower to storm the Bismarck base.

According to McHorn, the building he was standing by was the Tujunga prison. And not long after bursting in, Thomas saw someone tumbling down the stairs. He ordered a few officers to check on that mammal, but as he slowly realized the figure was a lion, he decided to approach carefully.

"Uh, Higgins, this lion..."

... was the deputy mayor. That was what the officer wanted to say right as Thomas confirmed it himself.

"Mr. Lionheart, are you-"

Lionheart suddenly jerked. Then a growl followed by a louder one. Thomas realized the situation right as the lion lashed out at his officers. But before Thomas got to tranquilize the lion, he felt a sting on his arm.

"Hostiles at the second floor!"

Thomas quickly repeated his order. He wanted to focus dealing with Lionheart while he was still able to stand, throwing the lion away from the other officers inadvertently into another room where Thomas tried to subdue Lionheart while his officers took down their ambushers.

Eventually Thomas came out victorious with bruises, cuts and vertigo, but his officers' report that they managed to down all hostiles in the building cheered him up.

"Put everyone... in custody."

"Sir! We found Mayor Bellwether."

 _What?_ Thomas gawked as his officers hauled down a ram and a sheep. He was surprised to find that not only the ram was the warden he spoke to earlier at the hospital, but also the sheep really was unmistakably Mayor Bellwether.

"Mayor... I hope you a... have a good explanation on this."

"We- I- we were kidnapped!"

 _Kidnapped?_ Thomas looked at the now unconscious Lionheart. _Well, more investigation was due._

"Sir, this ram was in possession of this gun."

Thomas was alarmed upon seeing the gun. He had seen that particular gun before. The night howler gun. But if the one given to him by McHorn was still in his office, this would mean...

"Just put everyone in custody first."

"What?" Mayor Bellwether protested, "You can't do this to me! I didn't do anything!"

"Mayor," Thomas inhaled deeply, the wounds he had just suffered still felt painful, "Between your knowledge of the night howlers... your presence here at Bismarck territory... the fact that your auxiliary cops were Bismarcks whether you know it or now... and our previous 'kidnapping' case involving Lionheart, I can't... just let you off."

"No, no, I'm not at fault here! It's- he just took me and Lionheart and dumped me here!"

"He? Who?"

"That bison, Bismarck!"

Thomas nodded.

"So where is he now?"

"I- I don't know!" Thomas began to find Mayor's constant yelling grating, "Isn't it your job to catch crooks, huh?"

"Well, it's also your- urgh- responsibility as a witness to provide your best knowledge for... us to catch him, Mayor," Thomas retorted in between panting, "Too bad I'm not in position to discuss with... you about the predator officers, but take into mind that if not because of them- haah- we could never have reached this point of saving _you_ right now."

Thomas then gestured his officers to take everyone away as he took a rest in his cruiser. An officer came up to him as he was patching up and told him that he had called the ambulance, but Thomas shook his head and called the ambulance to refrain from fetching him as he preferred not to have any medical staff in Bismarck territory. Thomas then told his concerned officer that he would be fine.

"Higgins..."

That voice on the transceiver was Wolford's, but his weak speech alarmed Thomas.

"Wolford, what's wrong?"

"Chief... on the loose."

" _What?!_ " and Wolford's pause drove Thomas anxious, "Wolford, what about Frank?"

"Bismarck... he took our savage officers... we intercepted, he set them on us..."

"Hang on, Wolford, state your place, I'm coming for you," Thomas began driving.

"The others are safe..."

"Higgins, this is Snarlov."

"Report, Snarlov," Thomas was slightly glad that Wolford wasn't on his own.

"That damned Bismarck used our savage officers as weapons as he tried to take us down. We've dealt with Bismarck and secured the other savage officers. But Chief... he's too much for Wolford and his team."

"Where did you last see Frank?"

"Hill St., heading... southeast."

 _So close to Savannah Central? Wait, hold on, that direction... oh, no..._

"And, uh," Snarlov continued after some sound of cruisers, "Wilde just- Wilde and Johnson just went after him."

Higgins reflexively stopped over as he tried to process that sentence.

"Oh, Rhinowitz's here."

"Right, brief him first, I'm on my way," and Thomas continued his trek, all the while hoping nothing bad happened to Frank or any of his officers on pursuit.

* * *

Nick was driving in a hurry towards Savannah Central. In light of what just happened, he couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad was about to happen.

The fleeing Bismarcks that McHorn mentioned turned out to be whisking away the savage cops. Thanks to Snarlov's help, they managed to intercept them. But during the scuffle, a few Bismarcks deliberately released the imprisoned savage cops to distract and rampage at the officers. Several officers suffered significant injuries while trying to contain the savage cops on top of dealing with the Bismarcks who decided to use the opportunity to wipe out the officers, but thankfully in the end, there was no fatal casualty on ZPD's side.

The problem was that Chief Clawhauser fled the scene after being released. Wolford and his team went after him, but by the time everyone caught up to them, they had been trounced and the wolf was reporting to Higgins that Chief had evaded capture.

What Wolford mentioned about where Chief might have gone to filled Nick with dread.

"Hey, Wilde!" Johnson's harried voice came out of the transceiver, "Wilde, slow down!"

"Can't!" Nick shot back, "We've gotta find Chief now!"

"I know, wait for me!"

"Yeah, sorry, but we need to hurry!"

Nick knew Johnson meant well, offering support until the other officers could help. But given how violently dangerous a savage Jackson was, he was worried how terrible a savage Chief could be.

"This is Wilde to Dispatch!"

"Hey, Wilde, what-"

"Chief is on the loose at Savannah Central and I need your help to locate him."

"Chief?" there was delight in Ben's voice.

"Sorry, Ben, but please," Nick felt guilty of shooting down Ben's glee, "He's still not cured yet- still savage! We need to find him before-"

"Ah, wait, is- is that him at the front door?"

 _Crap._

And then a sound of shattered glass.

 _No no no no **NO!**_

" _Chief at HQ!_ "

That was the last message Nick relayed as he immediately blitzed towards HQ. Upon approaching, he thought he saw Ben backing off from a savage cheetah.

 _Sorry, Chief, this might hurt._

Nick immediately smashed through the door. The cheetah noticed, but not quick enough to avoid Nick slamming his cruiser to him. Nick hoped he had hit the brakes at the right time.

"Wil- Wilde?" Ben sounded rather confused.

"Run, _now_!"

Suddenly Nick felt a strong bump, then the world just spun before making a violent stop. _Thank goodness for seatbelt_ , Nick grumbled.

As Nick looked outside towards Ben who was making his exit, he felt the cheetah landing on top of the now-flipped cruiser. Nick immediately rummaged for tranquilizer and exited the cruiser just as he felt the cheetah leap off. He managed to score a shot at the cheetah, but that didn't seem to faze him.

"Ben, run, now!"

Nick rushed towards the cheetah and fired another shot, hoping to yank his attention away from Ben. It worked too well, and the cheetah rushed at him with a speed that caught Nick off-guard, and his tranquilizer flew from his raked arm.

 _Well, at least I keep my arm,_ Nick thought as he glanced at Ben who has finally left the building.

"What's going-"

Trunkaby appeared, and upon spotting Nick with a bleeding arm and Chief on all four, she charged at the cheetah, who rushed at her back head on. It didn't take long for Nick to realize even Trunkaby was no match for the cheetah's ferocity, and Nick quickly ran to get his tranquilizer. As soon as he saw an opening, he fired. The cheetah glared right at Nick after that missed shot, and Nick hopped sideways to dodge the cheetah's lunge. But the cheetah caught him by his leg and thrashed him around before Trunkaby knocked him away.

"You ok, Wilde?"

At least that was what Nick thought Trunkaby asked, as he still felt groggy from the thrashing. Her pained yelp snapped him back, and after feeling around, he rushed at his tranquilizer again. But with Trunkaby still wrestling the cheetah and his vision getting blurry, Nick couldn't muster the courage to fire.

Then someone else shot the cheetah. Nick whipped his head to see Johnson with his gun ready, and the cheetah also realized his arrival and didn't hesitate to lunge at him. After Trunkaby caught up, claw marks all over her, the two officers tried to subdue the cheetah, but after a short brawl, he escaped their hold, preparing his next strike. The three officers then chased after him, and after the next brawl, they were panting heavily from their injuries while the cheetah just snarled at them with a bloody mouth. Upon seeing Nick on his knees and separated too far from the other two, he crouched and leapt towards the fox. Nick tried to shield himself with his arms until Johhson and Trunkaby's yanked the cheetah away, but he slipped their grasp and readied himself for another strike.

Then there were sirens, and a few large cruisers and police vans drove into the building and surrounded the cheetah. Rhinowitz led the officers to capture him, and after a violent struggle involving practically the entire squad, Trumpet, Snarlov and Rhinowitz managed to completely pin down the cheetah as the rhino administered sedatives. It took some time during which the cheetah continued thrashing to free himself, but eventually the sedatives took hold, and the cheetah lay still.

"Take him to the hospital now," Rhinowitz ordered, wiping off blood on his face.

"911, this is Officer McHorn from ZPD, we have three officers in critical condition at ZPD HQ."

Nick couldn't quite make out what McHorn was saying as he tried to stand up shivering. Higgins came up to him as a few other officers attended to Johnson and Trunkaby.

"Wait, Wilde, don't force yourself just yet," Higgins propped up a badly shredded Nick.

"Thanks... Higgins," Nick replied with a nervous smile.

"Johnson? Trunkaby?"

Johnson only gave a thumbs up while he was seated against the receptionist desk and Trumpet was attending to Trunkaby while they all were waiting for the ambulances.

"Here, Wilde," Higgins then gestured some officers to get some stretcher, chair or whatever for Nick to lie down.

"Thanks."

That was all Nick could say as he went limp and everything went black.


	36. Chapter 36: Recovery

Fabienne prepped up while waiting for the Prime Time jingle to play. Today was the first day of her return to the news room, and she felt a little nervous, having not read any news for so many days thanks to the savage predators scare. Well, it's in the past now. She then glanced around the news room as if trying to familiarize herself again with the atmosphere. Then again, this morning was a bit different.

The studio crew were largely the same, except that this time Peter was there, away from the camera. In his place now sat Oncardo, who was mumbling to himself, probably practising. Figures, he was usually a field reporter, but Peter suggested that he should be an anchor if just for today. To prove that predators were not just animals who lashed out for no reason, that predators were mammals too, no less civilized than preys. Especially once it became known that the predators had gone savage because of night howlers plants.

That some preys conspired to drive predators rabid just to show that predators were dangerous creatures to be removed from civilization gave her the chills.

Never mind. That was no longer a concern for her, for Oncardo, for predators and their prey friends.

The Prime Time jingle eventually played, and Fabienne turned to Oncardo and pointed to herself. The jaguar's puzzled look reminded her that he wasn't Peter, and she quickly tried to quell her snicker.

"Good morning, and you are watching ZNN Prime Time Morning. I am Fabienne Growley."

"And I am Oncardo Boi Cha."

"ZPD has arrested Mayor Douglas Bellwether, in addition to several other perpetrators, after declaring him as a suspect in a conspiracy to poison predators and turn them savage to have all predators removed from Zootopia. According to police investigation, Mr. Bellwether has funded the Bismarck gang at Rainforest District to find a way to implicate the predators as dangerous mammals, and they accomplished this using the plant Midnicampum holicithias, also known as night howlers, which is capable of artificially increasing aggression in all mammals. In addition, by pegging all predators as savage, Mr. Bellwether has also planned to usurp control of ZPD by replacing their forces, starting from the predators, with Bismarck gang members."

Fabienne turned towards Oncardo, who then realized that it was his turn.

"ZPD's investigation on Mr. Bellwether's plans to build a predator-only district at western Zootopia revealed that said project was fictitious. Mr. Bellwether has never planned to build any residential district to contain the predators, instead, based on ZPD's finding so far, the plan was to concentrate predators into Bismarck-controlled territories. In addition, ZPD has discovered a budding night howlers plantation at Tujunga, believed to be used to keep predators savage once they are contained by the Bismarcks until they see it fit to enact the removal of predators. When questioned on his motives, Mr. Bellwether only stated that predators are always inclined to violence by their very nature."

Fabienne could understand why Oncardo nearly choked on the last few words as she continued.

"Despite having just recovered from the effects of night howlers, Deputy Mayor Leodore Lionheart has made a schedule to give a press conference later today to explain about his previous dealings with Cliffside Asylum. It is understood that ZPD has discovered significant evidences that Mr. Lionheart was the true mastermind of the missing mammal cases, although he has stated that he has no knowledge about the night howlers."

Fabienne turned back to Oncardo.

"Based on the discovery that night howlers is responsible for driving predators savage, Zootopia General Hospital has managed to formulate a cure. The result has been positive so far, with ZGH reporting a 100% success rate for the antidote. Dr. Creekmare attributed the swift success of the discovery of the cure to Dr. Buckton, who has just recently been reinstated at ZGH, as well as Dr. Madge of St. Franz, who has been pardoned and bailed out of Zootopia Central Prison, to help create the antidote."

"Deputy Chief Thomas Higgins has announced that all predator police officers who were dismissed under then-mayor Bellwether's orders will be reinstated immediately, partly as a response to the discovery of the truth about savage mammals, as well as to fill back the gap left from the dismissal of all auxiliary cops who were recommended by Mr. Bellwether. Several of those auxiliary cops have also been detained under Mr. Higgins' order due to reports of misconduct during their duty."

"In addition to the shake-up at ZPD, Mr. Higgins has also liaised with Zootopia Police Academy to rework their admission process in light of the lopsided statistics of the cadets in recent times. Mr. Higgins has expressed his concern that the excessive number of predator cadets compared to preys may have played a significant role in inciting the recent savage predators crisis, thus this move is seen as preventive measure against any similar case in the future."

After the Prime Time, the news room erupted into applause upon Peter's urging. Fabienne smiled contently, while Oncardo sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Bravo. Flawless as ever," Peter gave his praise.

"Thanks, Peter," Fabienne bowed, then turned to Oncardo, "How's the first day on the camera?"

"Oh, well... I guess I can try getting used to this."

There was a mild chuckle in the air.

"Tell you what, Fab, Once," Peter continued, "I'm thinking of celebrating your return to ZNN tonight at The Vistas. You know, celebratory dinner and such. That ok with you?"

Fabienne and Oncardo traded gazes, then contently replied together, "Sure."

"Awesome!" Dennis chimed in, "It'll be a big gala for us ZNN. Ya know, we need to do this more often."

Everyone laughed at Dennis' usual gusto. Fabienne scanned the room, delighted to see that her coworkers were looking at her, and also Oncardo, with the same old friendly gaze that she had been accustomed to. Even Rutger no longer looked at her with fear. The nightmare was all but over.

* * *

Leo took his seat, slightly frowning that it wasn't very comfortable. Then again, this wasn't his usual office chair, or study chair, or even a chair for that matter. This was no building he had visited before, an improvised den away from public, with only Mr. Purrton in the know about his business here, and he had implored the snow leopard to keep quiet about this. Or it might also because his recovering body just wasn't very receptive of the crate he was sitting on, and the weather outside wasn't helping either.

After looking downwards for some time, at a briefcase he was holding, Leo threw his gaze upwards to meet the eyes of a brown wolf and a white wolf. Leo huffed. _Time to make this quick._

"So, anyway, Larry," Leo then offered the briefcase to the wolves, which Gary then picked up, "I'm sure that should cover all the fee for your services."

Gary gestured to Larry after counting the money inside, and the brown wolf glanced at Leo.

"In case you find that a little excessive, consider it a tip," Leo could roughly guess what Larry wanted to say.

"If you say so, sir," Larry accepted, "It's just pretty generous of you to add this to your deal of helping to get my pack out of that."

Leo recalled that while recuperating from his kidnapping and being turned savage by Douglas, he had arranged to have Dr. Madge and the wolves bailed out and cleared of as much charges as possible given that ZPD had found out that he was the true mastermind of the Cliffside Asylum case anyway. Sure, they all would still be branded as accomplices, but at least he could argue he strong-armed them into working for him. Besides, compared to anything Douglas had done, his transgression was mostly keeping the savage predator away from the populace, keeping both sides safe. It sounded pretentious, but Leo knew he had the moral high ground.

"How are the rest?" Leo's voice softened, "I know the prison hasn't been kind to them."

"They will recover, sir, now that they are out of the prison."

Larry inhaled, as though he had just said something wrong.

"No, better yet, they're out of town. Full recovery is only a matter of time."

"I'm sorry that I end up getting you pretty much exiled like this."

"Apology is not required here, sir," and Leo could swear both wolves chortled, "We've just done our job, and you've fulfilled your side of the deal. That we end up being fugitives for our role in your scheme is just occupational hazard."

"Seriously, Larry, just how many life-threatening things your pack have gone through that you just brush aside as mere occupational hazard?"

It wasn't an intentional humor, but everyone in the room chuckled all the same.

"Anyway, I have something else to do," Leo stood up wincing, but held out a paw when Gary wanted to prop him up, "You may leave now."

"Um-"

"Gary."

Gary glanced at Larry and nodded. Leo could roughly guess what Gary wanted to say.

"Don't sweat it, Gary. We all have our own problems. My imminent imprisonment, versus your exile probably until I get out and can clear your names..."

"Yeah. Ok," Gary conceded.

"Thank you, sir."

Leo smiled as the wolves flew into the hinterlands. After Mr. Purrton draped a jacket over him, Leo beckoned the snow leopard to leave with him. His time was up. Well, he could hope that the next few weeks behind the bar would be better than cowering in fear due to the savage predator scare and whatever Douglas had planned about it. Would they stuff him into the same cell as Douglas? Maybe. That would be funny.

* * *

Judy looked through the array of folded clothes strewn on her bed. She was finalizing whichever she would carry to Zootopia. Eventually she made her choices, stuffed what she wanted into her luggage and put the rest back into her wardrobe. Or would it still be her wardrobe next time she returned home? No matter, she giggled as she strode outside with her packed luggage.

"You sure look great, dear," Bonnie remarked as soon as Judy showed up at the living room.

"Ah, yes, mom, definitely," Judy then giddily embraced her mom, "Finally."

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded, "Finally we have our bunny cop in the family."

Judy reminisced about that sweet, blissful news. Thanks to her help in uncovering the night howlers conspiracy, Deputy Chief Higgins of ZPD had asked if she would like to join the force, an offer she accepted before he even finished his sentence. And with several other mammals vouching for her, such as Nick, Friedkin and McHorn, Mr. Higgins had arranged that so that not only she was admitted to the academy, but that she would be among the first cadets who got the chance for internship at ZPD. It might sound like bragging, but she felt so special.

"Jude the dude, how are you feeling?" Stu greeted on his way back in.

"Absolutely fantastic, dad," Judy hugged her dad, "You know how long I've waited to become a cop."

"Absolutely dear," Stu wiped his eyes, "But you know, police job is dangerous. Though I guess I shouldn't be saying that considering what you've gone through."

 _Ah yes, Dawn and her lackeys_. Judy agreed that she wasn't quite ready for such an altercation, but she was simply glad that everything worked out fine. Thanks to Nick.

After what felt like hours, Judy, her parents and a few of her siblings arrived at the train station. Judy looked back at her family when the train arrived and gave them one more hug before scampering in.

The city eventually came into view. The desert had never been so inviting. The snow-capped panorama looked like a blank sheet on which she could chronicle her experience. The rain in the lush jungles seemed to wash her clean of her anxiety. And the spires in the city invited her to try her fortune once again.

"Welcome to Zootopia."

This wasn't the first time Judy heard that greeting of course. But today, she truly felt like she was welcomed.

 _Officer Hopps is ready for action._

* * *

Mrs. Wilde was peeling and cutting apples, glancing upwards at times. Once she finished the apple platter, she put it on the bedside table as Nick looked on smiling. The two foxes traded gazes, happy to see each other.

"So I heard the doctors said you can be discharged in three days," Mrs. Wilde spoke before pausing.

"Yeah," Nick replied, "I kinda miss work already."

Both foxes giggled. Mrs. Wilde then huffed and looked longingly at the window, and Nick knew what his mom was thinking.

"I... thought I was prepared when you said that time that you wanted to be a police officer," Mrs. Wilde let out another sigh before turning back to Nick, "I've seen and heard the sort of cases police work on. Rough and gritty works, handling violent situation, that kind of dangerous stuffs."

Mrs. Wilde then held Nick's paw, and he caressed hers in kind.

"I'm sorry," came his reply.

"Don't say that," Mrs. Wilde shook her head, "I guess I, uh, never really considered the thought... the possibility of actually losing you. I always think you're a good cop who can take care of yourself... Just..."

Mrs. Wilde sighed again.

"I guess some days are worse off than the others, right?"

Both foxes chuckled again.

"I'm just glad that you managed to get through this," Mrs. Wilde wrapped herself over Nick, "Good work, sweetheart."

"Thanks, mom."

After a while, Mrs. Wilde made her exit, and Nick leaned backwards. He could still feel the aches of his injuries from that night, but with Zootopia returning to normal, recovery would be just a matter of time. Not just for him, but also his fellow officers. It was indeed as he said; He couldn't wait to get back to work, surrounded by fellow cops.

With satisfaction in his heart, he began snacking on the apples.

* * *

Frank was sitting on the side of his bed, his head low and his paws restless. His mind had felt blank for the last few hours. Or was it days? He wasn't even sure if he had ever slept for some time.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see someone in his jaws.

He at least remembered that Thomas visited him this morning.

 _Everyone's doing fine, Frank. That was a big busting and a few got hurt, but everyone's fine._

 _And how many were hurt by... me?_

 _Frank... that wasn't you._

 _It **was** me, Tom._

There was a knock on the door.

"Chief, may I come in?"

Frank listlessly threw a "Yes". Whether or not that actually was audible, Ben then barged in with a gift basket.

"Everyone at HQ wishes you quick recovery," Ben then placed the basket on a desk, then ran up to Frank, "and they pooled some to get you that."

Frank merely glanced at Ben for a second before dropping his gaze again. Ben was almost ready to sit on the bed beside Frank when he noticed the cheetah's paws bleeding and the bandages undone.

"Oh, wait, gimme a minute."

Frank almost didn't feel Ben dressing up his paws.

"I just know it's good to have first aid skills," Ben chuckled in satisfaction before sitting beside Frank, "So, Chief... are you ok?"

Frank slowly swiveled his head towards Ben, as if not believing that he saw Ben right beside him.

"I... am."

Ben drooped as Frank tried to avoid his eyes.

"Chief... please?" Ben patted Frank's bandaged arm, "I'm proud of having you as a chief who cares about our wellbeing, but we think about you too."

Ben then leaned on Frank, and that seemed to jolt the cheetah.

"We got hurt because we're doing our job as cops. But that just doesn't compare to what you've gone through."

 _In what way, Ben?_ Frank buried his face in his paws.

"I just... can't imagine... being turned into a mindless animal like that," Ben continued, "Unable to think... unable to... be with your friends, your loved ones... It makes me cry just thinking about it."

Frank inhaled deeply, unsure what to say.

"So, please, Chief? We're just happy that you're back with us. Ooh, I should throw a welcome-back party?"

 _Same old you, eh, Ben?_ Frank chortled and reflexively reached for Ben's head.

And he abruptly pulled away his paw, his breathing became panicked when he looked at his claws.

And just as promptly Ben held his arm. Frank wasn't sure what Ben was thinking until he saw the buffalo pick his arm and drape it over his shoulder, caressing it along the way.

"Ben?"

"Chief," Ben paused as he continued patting Frank's arm, "You're our chief. Our best chief. You always care about us, always there to support us, do your best to keep us safe... Can I return the favor?"

"What?"

Frank wasn't sure what surprised him more: His quick reply or Ben's words.

"I spoke to Higgins earlier," Ben continued, "that I want to take a few days off."

Frank wondered what that meant.

"To take care of you."

A silence.

"Like everyone else- no, more so than everyone else, he's worried about you. So, um," Ben shifted closer to Frank, still keeping the cheetah's arm wrapped around him, "I asked him earlier after he got back from here. Asked him if I can watch over you since he'll be busy with the recent cases on Mayor and the Bismarcks. If not because of those, I'm sure he'd want to watch over you himself, so here I am in his stead."

 _Frank, you're my friend. My best friend. And I want you back at ZPD because as a friend, I know that you know you belong there._

Those were Thomas' words before he left earlier. And looking at Ben, Frank couldn't help but think the buffalo actually wanted to say the exact same thing.

"But... Ben..."

A pause.

"Chief, please understand just one thing," Ben then looked up to Frank, "We don't hold anything against you. None of us do. It's just... well, if I may call it... occupational hazard?"

Frank looked down and noticed Ben smiling.

"I mean, we are cops. Considering what we do, things just happen. I... I'm just glad that we all make it through in the end."

Ben then met Frank's eyes.

"So, please, Chief? We- well, especially I... want to see you back. Not just at HQ, but also back to the same great, wonderful chief who has been with us all this time."

Frank didn't know what to say. But the more he looked at Ben, the less he could refute the buffalo's intention. He closed his eyes for a while, his mind sorting itself out while he saw nothing. A smile crept up on him.

"Thanks."

Ben's squeal prompted Frank to muss the buffalo's head.

 _Okay. I'll come back, guys._

* * *

 _ **#####**_

 _ **#####**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **Ah, finally the story is all but finished. In light of this, maybe I'd just like to mention one more thing.**

 **I did say early in the story that I wrote this as a reimagining of Zootopia story if there were swaps here and there, in particular, Bogo and Clawhauser species swap. But there's another important reason why I wrote this story, and the reason is to try to answer one question that the movie posed but never fully answered:**

 _ **What would happen if the higher echelons of Zootopia were to go savage?**_

 **I hope this story is a decent answer to that question :)**

 **Anyway, there's still one more chapter to go, but it's mostly a closing chapter, light in narrative, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same.**


	37. Chapter 37: A Start Of More

_(Some time later)_

The morning at ZPD HQ felt the same way as it was for Nick. The only difference was an unexpected greeting when he was opening the door.

"Hey, hellooo?"

Nick turned around upon hearing that familiar voice in an unfamiliar uniform.

"Heeey, it's Officer Hopps," Nick greeted the bunny as he held the door open.

"Aw, thanks, you don't have to," Judy then hopped in, "Doors like this aren't an issue for me."

"Well, if you say so," Nick then noticed a rather large paper bag in Judy's paw, "You're probably the second cop I know who carry their breakfast, lunch and dinner to the office."

"Oh, actually," Judy rummaged the bag and pulled out a boxed pastry, "For you."

"Oh, thanks," Nick picked the box, and the smell was familiar.

"Just this morning my buddy Finnick, maybe you know the fennec, paid a visit congratulating me for my first day of being a cop. And guess what? He bought some pastries for celebration from Gideon, enough to probably feed me until next year," Judy then chuckled in tandem with Nick, "So maybe you can help polish that off."

"Uh-huh," Nick smirked, then turned towards Ben who was eating his cereals, "Hi, Bogo."

"Oh, hellooooo, Wilde. Oh, and hello, Hopps."

Judy watched in amusement as Ben shoved his cereal aside without spilling anything, chortling when Nick whispered "He's a pro at that" to her. She then perked up when seeing Ben offer some donuts.

"First day on the job, right, Hopps? Here's an initiation snack."

"Don't worry, just take one," Nick nudged Judy, and she sheepishly picked one before Nick did the same.

"So, how does it feel, Wilde, now that you're no longer the smallest officer in town?" Ben resumed munching his cereal. Judy chuckled at remembering the fact that she's smaller than Nick.

"Well, no big deal, I guess," Nick guffawed, "I mean, it's not like there's a medal of honor for being a small cop."

"That reminds me, Nick," Judy whispered, "He's the first one?"

"Yeah, Bogo here pretty much only eats in the office," and Ben just laughed at Nick's explanation to Judy.

"Aw, Hopps, the food at the canteen aren't so shabby, you can give 'em a try later," Ben explained, before stopping as he looked at the clock, "Oh, roll call's gonnabe soon, you guys better hurry."

"We're on it," Nick then hasted to the bullpen, beckoning Judy to follow him, "Let's go."

Nick entered the bullpen to see a familiar atmosphere. Johnson beat Andersen in arm-wrestling this morning, and the lion high-fived an adjacent Jackson as if to celebrate. Wolford threw a quick glance at the two small officers before resuming his humming as if not noticing. Nick then gestured Judy to climb his usual seat before following suit, and the two saw McHorn sitting just beside them.

"Oh, hey, you're that Hopps bunny, right?" McHorn threw a greeting before offering a fist-bump, "Welcome to ZPD."

"Thanks, and oh, you're McHorn," Judy returned the fist-bump, "Nice to see you again."

Before Judy spoke another word, Higgins entered the bullpen bellowing his usual "Atten-hut!" which prompted the officers to stand up and chant the ZPD anthem. Nick took a sly pleasure upon seeing Judy's slightly perplexed expression. Eventually Chief Clawhauser entered the scene.

"All right, that's enough. Sit."

Nick felt a sudden bump on his right, and realized Judy had followed that order, disappearing from sight as a result.

"Small cops like us don't sit, Carrots," Nick hoisted Judy back up, and she only offered back a sheepish smile.

"First thing first before I deal the assignments for today, we need to address the elephant in the room."

All eyes shot straight to Trunkaby.

"Happy birthday, Francine."

The bullpen erupted into cheers and high-fives as the officers congratulated Trunkaby.

"We also have some new recruits with us, so once you're done with your work you can say hi to them."

"Hi, all," Judy reflexively threw her paw in the air.

"You haven't got permission to speak yet, Hopps, shut up."

The entire bullpen giggled as Judy snickered bashfully and Nick playfully jabbed her.

"Okay, assignments," Chief Clawhauser then start sorting the dockets in his paws, "Officers Delgato, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Sahara SWAT. Officers Andersen, Jackson, Johnson, nip-busting at Tundratown. Officers Wolford, McHorn, Rainforest patrol and investigation... Officers Wilde, Hopps, Savannah traffic enforcement. Dismissed."

Judy then turned towards Nick and noticed him smiling contently.

"I don't know about you, Nick, but aren't we getting something too mild?"

"What's wrong with a light work every now and then, Judy?" Nick stretched as he prepared to leave, "If anything it's good to see the city in peace. You know, scenery appreciation."

"Oh, by the way, Wilde, I've got rumors that someone's challenging you for street-racing at Savannah Central. You up for it?"

It took Nick some time to process that unexpected sentence from Chief.

"Um, excuse me, Chief, did you just-"

"Yes, yes, I just did," Chief Clawhauser leered at Nick and smirked before leaving, "Now get to work."

* * *

"Why is it that you're so alarmed when he joked like that?" Judy threw a question at Nick as they began their patrol.

"Oh, right, this is probably your first time seeing him," Nick explained, "Chief isn't really well-known for his humor. Except, maybe, when Bogo is involved."

Nick could guess Chief's actual reason of being casual with him, but he felt it'd be better he kept that guess of Chief doing so as a thanks for saving Ben from him when he was a savage. Mentioning that to anyone felt too pretentious.

"Those two get along, you mean?"

"Oh yes, definitely."

"I see."

Judy then threw her gaze around. This wasn't the first time she saw this part of the city, but seeing it as a cop in a cruiser did feel different. It almost felt like she was flying.

"Enjoying the scenery so far, Judy?"

Judy threw a smirk at Nick, and he only leered back.

"At least you're lucky," Nick continued, "My first few months of work was all by myself, doing parking duty on a run-down buggy. Now, your first day of work, you've already got a partner with a really cool cruiser, in both meanings of the word."

"Well, at least you get to drive from the get-go," Judy snarked back, "I wonder when it's gonnabe my turn to steer."

"Well, maybe after a few weeks then we can switch seats."

"That's so long."

"Really, Carrots? You break my heart."

The two laughed it out. Judy then looked at the rear view mirror and noticed they hadn't moved far from the block they were in when Nick started talking about his parking duty.

"Um, is it just me, or is the speed limit here 5 or something?"

As if to answer her question, a pink blur zoomed past right in front of their cruiser. Nick then threw a smirk at Judy.

"No."

And the next thing Judy knew, she spent the next few seconds screaming on top of her lungs as Nick gave chase to the speeder at full speed. Never had she felt so glad that the cruiser finally stopped after the chase.

"Geez, Carrots, you could've told me I can turn off the siren," Nick playfully rubbed his ear as he unfastened his seatbelt.

"One question, Nick," Judy threw an incredulous smirk at Nick, "Has anyone ever chewed you out for reckless driving?"

"A few," came the reply from a slyly nodding muzzle.

The two cops approached the speeding car, a pink Furrari of a relatively recent model, with SPD DMN tacked on the license plate. Nick merely shook his head as he walked up to the driver's door.

"Excuse me, Sir or Maam, this is a 40 mph zone and I'm afraid you've gone triple that limit."

The window went down, revealing a pink-haired bespectacled sloth grinning bashfully. Judy realized Nick was just as slack-jawed as she was and whispered to him.

"Never seen sloths on wheel either, huh?"

As Nick replied with a "Nope", the female sloth began speaking.

"O... ffi... cer... I... can... ex... plain."

* * *

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 ** _Author's Note:_**

 **Aaaand, that's it. I'd like to thank all of you for reading and enjoying the story, and also thanks for the critiques.**


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